On the precipitation of magnesium silicide in irradiated aluminium-magnesium alloys

Thermal neutron irradiation of aluminium or its alloys causes the production of silicon by transmutation. In aluminium-magnesium alloys, the transmutation-produced silicon reacts with magnesium and forms small precipitates. The precipitation in irradiated Al-Mg alloys is similar to the early stage of aging in thermally treated Al-Mg-Si alloys. This study evidences the simultaneous generation of two crystallographically different precipitate types. On the basis of electron diffraction patterns, unit cell parameters are derived and compared with structures found in thermally aged alloys. One of the two precipitate types has an Mg₂Si composition, while the other is an Al-Si-Mg intermetallic compound with high aluminium and silicon but low magnesium content. The formation of magnesium poor precipitates is important since it indicates that the threshold neutron fluence for grain boundary precipitation of silicon may be much higher than estimated in the past.