Behavior of Fe-rich phase during rapid solidification of Cu–Fe hypoperitectic alloy

Powders of Cu85Fe15 alloy were manufactured by using the high-pressure gas atomization technique. The microstructures of the powders have been investigated. It is indicated that the liquid–liquid phase transformation takes place in the atomized droplets smaller than 224 μm in diameter. The size of Fe-rich spheres decreases and their number density increases with the decrease of the powder size. A model has been developed to describe the microstructure evolution in the atomized droplets during a cooling through the metastable miscibility gap. Calculations have been performed with Cu85Fe15 alloy. The experimental and simulated results have been discussed in detail.