COOLING CURVES AND PHASE DIAGRAM
The melting range over which the
temperature of any solid and liquid phases
pure material (a one- are in equilibrium.
component system) at Instead of a single
constant pressure is a melting temperature,
single unique the system now has
temperature. The two different
liquid and solid phases temperatures, the
exist together in liquidus temperature
equilibrium only at and the solidus
this temperature. temperature which
When cooled, the are needed to
temperature of the describe the change
molten material will from liquid to solid.
steadily decrease until
the melting point is The liquidus
reached. temperature is the
temperature above
At this point the which the system is
material will start to entirely liquid, and the
crystallise, leading to solidus is the
the evolution of latent temperature below
heat at the solid liquid which the system is
interface, maintaining completely solid.
a constant Between these two
temperature across points the liquid and
the material. Once solid phases are in
solidification is equilibrium. When the
complete, steady liquidus temperature
cooling resumes. The is reached,
arrest in cooling solidification begins
during solidification and there is a
allows the melting reduction in cooling
point of the material rate caused by latent
to be identified on a heat evolution and a
time-temperature consequent reduction
curve. in the gradient of the
cooling curve.
Upon the completion
of solidification the
cooling rate alters
again allowing the
temperature of the
solidus to be
determined. As can be
seen on the diagram
below, these changes
Most systems in gradient allow the
consisting of two or liquidus
more components temperature TL, and
exhibit a temperature the solidus
temperature TS to be eutectic temperature
identified. it will have the
eutectic composition
and will freeze at that
temperature to form a
solid eutectic mixture
of two phases.
Formation of the
eutectic causes the
system to cease
cooling until
solidification is
When cooling a complete. The
material of eutectic resulting cooling curve
composition, shows the two stages
solidification of the of solidification with a
whole sample takes section of reduced
place at a single gradient where a
temperature. This single phase is
results in a cooling solidifying and a
curve similar in shape plateau where
to that of a single- eutectic is solidifying.
component system
with the system
solidifying at its
eutectic temperature.
By taking a series of
cooling curves for the
same system over a
range of compositions
the liquidus and
When solidifying solidus temperatures
hypoeutectic or for each composition
hypereutectic alloys, can be determined
the first solid to form allowing the solidus
is a single phase which and liquidus to be
has a composition mapped to determine
different to that of the the phase diagram.
liquid. This causes the
liquid composition to Below are cooling
approach that of the curves for the same
eutectic as cooling system recorded for
occurs. Once the different compositions
liquid reaches the and then displaced
along the time axis. This allows the solidus
The red regions and liquidus to be
indicate where the plotted to produce the
material is liquid, the phase diagram:
blue regions indicate
where the material is
solid and the green
regions indicate
where the solid and
liquid phases are in
equilibrium.

By removing the time

axis from the curves
and replacing it with
composition, the
cooling curves
indicate the
temperatures of the
solidus and liquidus
for a given
composition.