Investigation of clustering behavior in an Al-Mg-Si alloy during pre-aging using Kinetic Monte Carlo method

Shoji, Mizuki*; Kurihara, Kensuke*; Du, J.-P.*; Ogata, Shigenobu*; Lobzenko, I.   ; Tsuru, Tomohito   ; Serizawa, Ai*

Al-Mg-Si alloys are considered to have complex two-step aging behavior due to the contribution of nanoclusters that form in the early aging stage. In this study, the mechanism of nanocluster formation was investigated by using Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) calculations to explore the diffusion process of solute atoms in an Al-Mg-Si alloy model, taking into account diffusion barriers. The calculated diffusion behavior of solute atoms in the Al-Mg-Si alloy at 373 K reproduced the formation of nanoclusters with the Mg/Si ratio obtained experimentally.