On the Use of a Cluster Identification Method and a Statistical Approach for Analyzing Atom Probe Tomography Data for GP Zones in Al-Zn-Mg(-Cu) Alloys.

Early-stage clustering in two Al-Mg-Zn(-Cu) alloys has been investigated using atom probe tomography and transmission electron microscopy. Cluster identification by the isoposition method and a statistical approach based on the pair correlation function have both been applied to estimate the cluster size, composition, and volume fraction from atom probe data sets. To assess the accuracy of the quantification of clusters of different mean sizes, synthesized virtual data sets were used, accounting for a simulated degraded spatial resolution.

Scanning precession electron diffraction data analysis approaches for phase mapping of precipitates in aluminium alloys.

Mapping the spatial distribution of crystal phases with nm-scale spatial resolution is an important characterisation task in studies of multi-phase materials. One popular approach is to use scanning precession electron diffraction which enables semi-automatic phase mapping at the nanoscale by collecting a single precession electron diffraction pattern at every probe position over regions spanning up to a few micrometers. For a successful phase mapping each diffraction pattern must be correctly identified.

AutomAl 6000: Semi-automatic structural labelling of HAADF-STEM images of precipitates in Al-Mg-Si(-Cu) alloys.

When the Al-Mg-Si(-Cu) alloy system is subjected to age hardening, different types of precipitates nucleate depending on the composition and thermomechanical treatment. The main hardening precipitates extend as needles, laths or rods along the <100> directions in the aluminium matrix. It has been found that the structures of all metastable precipitates may be generalized as stacks of <100> columns, where most of these columns are replaced by solute elements.