LAUSR

Abstract 3-D morphology and growth mechanism of α-Al(FeMnCr)Si crystal were investigated by extracting Fe-containing intermetallics in slow-cooled Al-7Si-1Fe-1.5Mn-0.5Cr (wt%) alloy. It is found that cube is the dominated growth morphology of α-Al(FeMnCr)Si intermetallic crystal. It is covered by six {1 0 0} faces and shows preferential growth in eight points of the cube. Series of transition morphologies are also observed which corresponds to different growth stages of the crystal before forming a final cube. After a careful interconnection of these morphologies and further combination of crystal growth theory, the growth mechanism and the transition evolution of the cubic α-Al(FeMnCr)Si intermetallic crystal are put forward. This is reasonably identical with the experimental results.