Early stages of phase separation using three‐dimensional atom probe and atomistic modelling

The early stages of clustering in Al-14.8 Mg alloy have been studied using atomistic modelling and 3DAP analysis. Atomistic modelling was based on first-principles quantum mechanical calculations and Monte Carlo (MC) based techniques. A good agreement between the experimental results and simulated data was obtained showing the appropriateness of the theoretical approach used. It has been shown that after 720 h at 35 °C (308 K) clustering of Mg was clearly detectable in the experimental alloy. The simulated data after 200 MC steps corresponded well to the experimental results obtained after ageing for 720 h.