MatE 215

Laboratory 4
Eutectic
Phase Diagrams
Goal
To use phase diagrams to predict stable phases, determine melting and freezing
temperatures, and identify suitable operating temperatures for alloys in applications.

Background
Importance of Phase Diagrams in Engineering
Each type of engineer uses graphical tools to communicate information or to perform
calculations. For example, electronic engineers use timing patterns to help analyze
the digital output of a circuit board; agricultural engineers use a contour map to
assist in designing an irrigation system. Materials engineers – especially
metallurgists and ceramists – use phase diagrams to determine which phases are
stable at certain combinations of composition and temperature. One of the more
important aspects of phase diagrams is that it will let you know at what
temperatures an alloy is solid and what temperatures it becomes either partially or
completely liquid. These things would be useful to know if your component was
designed to operate at high temperature (like many aircraft engine turbine blades).
Additionally, we can perform calculations with phase diagrams to determine the
amount of the various phases present.

Phase – More than S, L, G

You are probably used to dealing with the three phases of matter: solid, liquid, gas
(S, L, G). These three categories are important; however, we need to increase our
understanding of what it means to be a phase in the solid state. It turns out that
there can be many different phases in a single solid.

Imagine a chocolate chip cookie, like the one shown at right. The
cookie consists of the “cookie base” and the chocolate chips. This
is a statement of the two solid phases present in our chocolate chip
cookie. The big reason they are separate phases is that you can
easily tell the difference between them. This is obvious, but it’s
important. Consider the chocolate chips: they have a homogeneous
composition, a given structure, and a real boundary separating
them from the cookie base. These are the three attributes of a
phase in materials engineering: composition, structure, and
boundary. Now consider the cookie base. This is an example of
a solid phase that is made up of more than one component:
flour, sugar, eggs, butter, etc. You cannot see these individual
components in the cookie because they form a solution – a solid
solution. The cookie base is single phase and multi-component.
In materials engineering, the analog to the multiphase chocolate
chip cookie is the multiphase microstructure as seen through the
optical microscope. An example of this for a cast iron is shown
at right – the light regions are one phase, and the dark regions
another phase.

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In this laboratory, you will be dealing with various mixtures of phases in the lead-tin
(Pb-Sn) system. One of the phases is liquid – familiar to you. The other two phases
are solids,  and  – likely not as familiar to you. One of the objectives of this
experiment is to increase your knowledge of multiple solid phases.

The World of Solid Phases

Let’s return to the general organization of phases: S, L, G. First, we are not
concerned with gases in phase diagrams because all of the important reactions will
happen with the condensed phases: S, L. Second, a liquid phase will always be a
homogeneous, single phase. Imagine that the liquid can just dissolve everything it
needs to in order to be just one liquid. Third, solid phases tend to be solid solutions
instead of pure elements. This last fact is a little tricky.

Like hot tea and sugar, a liquid solution, solids can dissolve certain amounts of other
elements and create a solid solution. For example, lead can dissolve a certain
amount of tin creating a lead-tin solid solution. Imagine the tin atoms substituting
for some of the lead atoms in the crystal structure of lead, which happens to be FCC
(face centered cubic). A solid solution is usually given a Greek letter on the phase
diagram (such as  or ). So, when you see  (or ) on a phase diagram, that refers
to a mixture of two different elements in solid solution and not the pure element.
This bears repeating:  is not a pure element.

Three characteristics are important about solid solutions:

1. Different elements have different amounts of solubility in each other. For
example, Pb can dissolve much more Sn than Sn can dissolve Pb.
2. The solubility of one element in another increases with higher temperature.
Think of our tea and sugar example again: you can dissolve more sugar in hot
tea than you can in iced tea.
3. Pure lead is not the same as . Keep in mind that  is a mixture of atoms, a
solid solution, and not a pure element. This seems obvious at this point, but
it can become confusing later on.
It is interesting that each of these characteristics is shown graphically on the phase
diagram. Keep these in mind as you work with the lead-tin phase diagram.

Phase Diagrams are Maps

We are getting to phase diagrams, but first we need to talk about maps. If you
wanted to drive from San Luis Obispo to St. Louis, a road map would be helpful. At
any point in your journey, you could figure out where you are and then where you
might want to be going. Phase diagrams are just another kind of map – with certain
combinations of temperature and composition; you can determine where you are and
where you might want to go. Where you are in phase diagrams deals with four
topics:
1. The phases present
2. The composition of each phase
3. The relative amounts of each phase
4. The microstructure seen using an optical microscope

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Where you want to go deals with what will happen when you heat or cool your alloy
composition.

Consider Figure 1, which is the Pb-Sn phase diagram. Pb and Sn are the two
components of the system. The components are the pure elements. The phases
shown are solid , solid , and liquid. The phase diagram is therefore a map of what
phases can exist at various combinations of composition (%Pb-%Sn) and
temperature.

Interpreting phase diagrams is much like reading a map. For example, imagine that
you have an alloy with an overall composition of 40 wt.% Sn (60 wt.% Pb). The red
vertical line in Figure 1 represents this overall composition. The temperature you
want to consider is 300C. These coordinates (red dot in Figure 1) indicate that we
are in the single phase liquid region of the phase diagram. So, if we had some small
chunks of lead and tin handy, weighed out 40 wt.% Sn and 60 wt.% Pb, put our
chunks in a high-temperature stainless steel container, and heated it to 300C, the
mixture would turn to liquid. That liquid would contain a homogeneous mixture of Pb
and Sn atoms. Now, notice something interesting about our alloy – if we slowly
cooled it from 300C, it would remain liquid until about 240C (horizontal dashed line
in Figure 1). Below 240C, the liquid would cross into a two-phase region containing
solid  and liquid – more about this in a bit. What this means is that the mixture of
Pb and Sn can exist as a liquid (mixture of liquid and solid) at temperatures well
below the melting temperature of pure Pb (327C). This is one of the fascinating
things about mixtures of elements. We will return to our 40 wt.% Sn example, but
first there are a few more things about phase diagrams to mention.


240°C
 + L
  + L

+

Figure 1. The Pb-Sn phase diagram. The red vertical line represents a particular alloy composition of
40 wt.% Sn – 60 wt.% Pb.

Hopefully, the  and  phase fields of the diagram are a bit familiar to you now.
These are our solid solutions at the two ends of the phase diagram. Because they
are at the ends, they are called terminal solid solutions. Notice that the maximum

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solubility of Sn in Pb is 18.3 wt.% Sn and that the maximum solubility of Pb in Sn is

2.2 wt.% Pb (100-97.8). These numbers are given on the phase diagram for use in
numerical calculations later on. The melting temperatures of pure Pb and pure Sn
are also given on the two temperature axes in the diagram, 327C and 232C,
respectively. There is a special composition (61.9 wt.% Sn) and temperature
(183C) on this diagram. These deal with the alloy composition with the lowest
melting point in the system. These are called the eutectic composition and the
eutectic temperature. Thus, we call the kinds of diagrams that look like the Pb-Sn
system eutectic phase diagrams.

Cooling I – Pure Element

First, a case that is familiar to you already: the freezing of a pure element from a
liquid. What we want to do is to plot out the changes that occur on a temperature
vs. time plot, which is known as a cooling curve. Let’s consider pure Pb. Lead melts
at 327C. We can take a sample of Pb, put it into a furnace, heat it up to a
temperature somewhat above its melting point, place a high-temperature
thermocouple into the melt to monitor the temperature, and then shut off the
furnace to allow the lead sample to cool slowly. We could then plot the variation of
temperature with time and come up with a cooling curve shown schematically in
Figure 2.

L
Temperature

L→S
S
327C

Time
Figure 2. Cooling curve for pure lead. At the melting point, there is a thermal arrest when liquid lead
changes to solid lead at 327C.

Since this is a pure element, it freezes at a specific temperature on cooling from the
liquid. When the solidification happens, the temperature is constant producing a
thermal arrest. The temperature remains constant until all of the liquid has
transformed to solid. Thermal arrest occurs whenever there is one more phase than
there are components in the system. In order for these phases to be in equilibrium,
the temperature must remain constant. In our pure lead example, the system
contains one component (Pb), and during freezing there are two phases in
equilibrium (L, S). Take note that we did not use  here because we are dealing with
pure lead and not a solid solution of lead and tin.

Cooling II - Alloy
An alloy is a mixture of two or more metallic elements. Cooling is much more
interesting when considering what happens to an alloy compared to a pure element.
Now we really need the phase diagram to tell us what is going on as we cool from
the liquid. Let’s return to our 40 wt.% Sn example once again (Figure 1). We have

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heated it to liquid at 300C and are now going to plot out a cooling curve as it cools
to the solid state (Figure 3).

L
240C

Temperature L +  Phases
183C

+
L→+
Reaction

Time
Figure 3. Schematic cooling curve for an alloy containing 40 wt.% Sn-60 wt.% Pb.

We begin as before with a homogeneous liquid at high temperature. Instead of

freezing at a single temperature, the alloy freezes over a range of temperatures. At
about 240C the solid phase  begins to freeze (this is called , more on this soon).
Notice that we crossed a boundary on the phase diagram at this temperature. More
 forms as the temperature cools from 240 to 183C. When the temperature
reaches 183C, then we get a thermal arrest as the alloy goes through the eutectic
reaction: L →  + . That is, the liquid freezes to two solid phases at the same time.
Since we have more phases (3) than components (2) this must occur at a constant
temperature. After all of the liquid has frozen to this mixture of  and , the two-
phase solid now continues to cool once more. So now we have two kinds of
phenomena occurring in our cooling curve: a change in slope and a thermal arrest.

Primary, Proeutectic, and Prime

Look at our Pb-Sn phase diagram once again. Alpha (or beta) appears three
separate times:
1.  in the terminal solid solution
2.  present above the eutectic temperature (called )
3.  present below the eutectic temperature

We already know about #1. The second one is called proeutectic , primary , or 
(alpha prime). The third in our list can be two different things. It can be simply  in
a mixture of  and , if the overall alloy composition is less than 18.3 wt.% Sn. Or it
can refer to both proeutectic  and  formed below the eutectic temperature from
the eutectic reaction. This is a little confusing, but it will become clearer when we
discuss what the microstructures look like at various regions of the cooling curve.
Keep in mind that each of these is  – single phase solid solution of mostly Pb and
some Sn – they just appear at different regions of the phase diagram.

The Appearance of the Microstructure

Let’s return to our road map analogy once more, and your trip from San Luis to St.
Louis. At any point on your journey, say Weatherford, OK, you could look around
and take a picture of your surroundings. We can do the same kind of thing with

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phase diagrams: at any point in the diagram, we can sketch and label the
microstructure of the alloy. This is important because the microstructure – the
distribution and morphology of the phases – can control the properties of the alloy.

Figure 4 presents an idealized representation of the different microstructures formed

when we cool our 40 wt.% Sn alloy from the liquid. There is a lot going on in this
diagram, but we can concentrate on the microstructures for now. The proeutectic 
solidifies first in numerous islands distributed evenly in the liquid – solidification can
start at many locations in the liquid at once. These islands become larger as the
temperature falls from 240C to 183C. At 183C, the microstructure consists of
islands of proeutectic alpha surrounded by a certain amount of liquid. Cooling below
183C will cause the eutectic reaction to happen to the liquid (the proeutectic alpha
remains unchanged). The eutectic reaction results in the  and  forming in a
specific morphology: many closely spaced layers. The eutectic structure, or the
eutectic mix of phases, is “striped.” It is immediately recognizable and distinct from
the proeutectic phase regions.

Figure 4. The microstructures formed during solidification of a 40 wt.% Sn alloy. Note that the
eutectic structure occurs as closely spaced layers of  and .

The eutectic reaction, L →  + , is interesting. Let’s consider what is happening

here in stages. Overall, a liquid phase is becoming solid as we decrease
temperature. Nothing too surprising here, except that the solid formed in the
eutectic reaction is a mixture of two phases. The mixture is a special one because of
the physical distribution of the two solid phases  and . Alpha and beta occur in
closely spaced layers. A real Pb-Sn microstructure is shown in Figure 5.

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Proeutectic 

 and  in layers
formed by the
eutectic reaction

Figure 5. The microstructure of a Pb-Sn alloy slowly cooled from the liquid. Note the eutectic mixture
of  and  consisting of closely spaced layers of each phase.

Amount of Eutectic in the Microstructure

Here’s something to think about with respect to the eutectic microstructure in
various alloys of lead and tin. In the Pb-Sn system, any overall alloy composition
between 18.3 wt.% Sn and 97.8 wt.% Sn will show some eutectic microstructure.
Be sure you understand this statement before moving on. Now, as the composition
gets closer to the eutectic composition of 61.9 wt.% Sn, more eutectic
microstructure will form. When the overall alloy composition is 61.9 wt.% Sn, the
microstructure will be 100% eutectic.

Phase Composition: Amounts of the Two Elements

Back once again to your road trip; there are five people
(three women, two men) in your car. You could say
that your vehicle has a composition of 3/5 (60%)
female, and 2/5 (40%) male. Along the way, you come
upon an empty vehicle on the side of the road. It turns
out that there’s a note on the dash asking that the car
be driven about 100 miles to an address in the next big
city as the former occupants and owners of the vehicle
were abducted by aliens and are not sure when they will
be returning (to earth). The keys are under the visor.
Always game for an adventure, two of your group (one
woman, one man) get into the car to begin the 100-mile car delivery journey. Your
trip has now turned into a caravan. In the original car are 2 women and 1 man
(67% female, 33% male). In the alien-mobile are 1 woman and 1 man (50%
female, 50% male). The overall make-up of your trip to St. Louis is still the same: 3
women and 2 men; it’s just that some redistribution to different vehicles has
occurred.

The same kind of redistribution occurs when alloys freeze from the liquid. Instead of
people jumping into different cars, atoms will join different phases. Keep a few ideas
in mind.
1. We only have two components to work with, like Pb and Sn.

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2. Phase diagrams are always an expression of equilibrium, which means we are

going to cool (or heat) slowly enough so that all of the reactions that can
happen will happen and go to completion.
3. The composition of a phase is always found from the x-axis of the phase
diagram: %Sn, %Pb. Composition always involves the two pure elements in
the system – the percentages of the components.
In single-phase regions, the composition is straightforward. Take our 40 wt.% Sn
alloy at 300C for instance (red dot in Figure 1), the composition of the liquid is just
the overall composition of the alloy: 40 wt.% Sn, 60 wt.% Pb.

In two-phase regions, we need a tie line to determine the compositions of the phases
present. A tie line is a horizontal line at a specific temperature that goes between
the boundaries of the two-phase region. Consider the same overall composition of
40 wt.% Sn once again, but this time at 200C (Figure 6). There is a tie line drawn
in connecting the  (left-hand side) and L (right-hand side) boundaries of the  + L
two-phase field at 200C. The composition of each phase can be determined from
the endpoints of the tie line. The composition of  is 18 wt.% Sn, and the
composition of the liquid is 57 wt.% Sn. What has occurred is a redistribution of Pb
and Sn atoms that were in a single-phase, homogeneous liquid at 300C to another
liquid phase and a solid phase at lower temperature. It’s much like the situation
where two of your road-trip group have just gotten into the alien car. The overall
composition of the  + L mixture is still the same at 40 wt.% Sn, just like your two-
car caravan road-trip still has 60% women and 40% men.

Compositions of phases in two-phase regions are at endpoints of tie lines

read off the x-axis (%Sn, %Pb).

Overall composition

Tie Line 
 + L
  + L

+
Tie line
Overall Composition

18 wt.% Sn 57 wt.% Sn

Figure 6. The Pb-Sn phase diagram with a tie line at 200ºC for an overall composition of 40 wt.% Sn.

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Relative Amounts of Phases: Lever Rule Calculation

At this point, we know the compositions of each of the phases in our two-phase
mixture of  + L, but we do not know how much of each phase is present. This may
be useful to know. To determine how much of each phase is present, we need the
help of the lever rule and a mass balance calculation. The origin of the lever rule
comes from the fact that we only have the overall composition of the alloy to work
with – only so many Pb and Sn atoms in the mixture of phases. The mass balance
we are about to perform looks like a lever balanced at the fulcrum of the overall
composition, so it is called the lever rule. To perform the calculation, we need to
extract the tie line from the phase diagram and label it completely, like so:
 L

18 wt.% Sn 57 wt.% Sn
40 wt.% Sn

To determine the amount of  in the two-phase mixture, we need to take the side of
the lever opposite from  (think of what is balancing  for the lever). The fraction
of  is given by:

57 − 40
f  = = 0.436 = 43.6% (1)
57 − 18

You can see that we simply use the wt.% Sn composition values from the tie line for
the calculation. The meaning of this number is that the two-phase mixture of  + L
is 0.436 or 43.6% . The remainder (1-0.436 = 0.564) is L. So, if you had 250
grams of alloy that you melted to begin with, and then slowly cooled it to 200ºC,
0.436 x 250 g = 109 grams would be .

Amounts of each phase in a two-phase mixture are found from a mass

balance calculation using the lever rule with the appropriate tie line.

Key Terms
Phase
Liquid solution
Solid solution
Solubility
Component
Alloy composition
Terminal solid solution
Eutectic composition, temperature, reaction
Cooling curve
Thermocouple
Thermal arrest
Alloy
Proeutectic (primary) alpha
Eutectic microstructure
Tie Line
Lever rule

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Always Be Safe
1. Be careful not to touch any hot surfaces of the furnace. At the temperature
range that we are working, surfaces will not appear to be hot.
2. Wear gloves when handling the furnace cap.
3. Do not heat any sample above 360°C.
4. Do not breathe any vapors coming from the melted samples. Use the exhaust
system while melting and cooling.

Lab Snapshot
You will generate cooling curves for two different alloy compositions (one known and
one unknown) in Pb-Sn system. For each composition, you will heat the sample into
its liquid state, transfer it to a cooling chamber, and use a thermocouple to monitor
the temperature as it cools to solid. Your cooling curves will be used to determine
the temperatures for the phase changes that occurred on cooling and to determine
the overall composition of the unknown alloy.

Directions
Heating and Cooling Alloys
1. Pb-Sn Phase Diagram. Locate the small copy of the Pb-Sn phase diagram.
Double-stick tape this into your lab notebook. You will be using it for
calculations; mark it up as you work through various parts of the experiment.
2. Known Alloy Composition. Choose a known alloy composition from the samples
at your lab station.
3. Alloy Composition and Phase Diagram. On your phase diagram, draw a vertical
line at the overall alloy composition you have just chosen. Make a listing of the
temperatures and reactions where phase changes will occur for your alloy
composition on cooling from the liquid. These temperatures will help you set
up your heating and cooling experiment.
4. Cooling Curve Set-Up. Using nearly a whole page in your lab notebook, set up
the axes to measure a cooling curve for your alloy (as in Figure 2 or 3). It’s
best to turn your book sideways for the plot. You will be taking data every 30
seconds for about 15-20 minutes; have 1 grid square correspond to 1 minute.
5. Alloy Samples. Examine your sample for a moment. There is an outer tube,
sealed at the bottom and open at the top, that contains the alloy. There is also
a small stainless steel tube inside the larger tube. This small tube will act as
the sheath for the thermocouple during heating and cooling.
6. Thermocouple. A thermocouple is simply a high-temperature thermometer. It
has a digital read-out and a long, thin metal probe with a plastic handle. Turn
on the digital read-out, and make sure it reads room temperature in degrees C.
The temperature is measured at the tip of the metal probe.
7. Alloy Sample into the Furnace. The furnace may be hot from previous lab
sections; take care and wear gloves if this is the case. Remove the metal cap
from the furnace. Place your alloy sample into the furnace chamber. Slide the
thermocouple’s metal probe through the hole in the cap. Place the furnace cap-
thermocouple combination onto the top of the furnace carefully threading the
thermocouple probe into the stainless steel small tube of your sample. Make

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sure that the thermocouple is truly in the stainless steel tube before
proceeding.
8. Sample Heating. Turn on the furnace using the toggle switch. Do not adjust
the furnace controls. The furnace itself has a digital temperature read-out, but
this is the temperature near the heating elements, and not your sample. Watch
the thermocouple temperature during heating. You do not need to record any
data during the heating portion of the experiment. Turn on the exhaust hood
(knob is around the back of the unit).
9. Maximum Temperature. Your goal is to make your sample completely liquid.
You already know from your prediction with the phase diagram for your overall
alloy composition at what temperature this will occur. You want to go 20-30C
above this temperature. When you reach this temperature, check to see that
the alloy is liquid by gently moving the plastic handle of the thermocouple. You
should be able to move the stainless steel sheath around easily.
10. Furnace Off. Shut off the furnace.
11. Transfer Alloy Sample to Cooling Chamber. The transfer of your sample to the
cooling chamber requires two team members to complete. One team member
completely removes the thermocouple from the cap and sample. This same
team member removes the metal cap from the furnace using the gloves
provided, placing it onto the steel table, and then reinserts the thermocouple
probe into the stainless steel sheath while the sample is still in the furnace.
Another team member uses the hook to transfer the sample and thermocouple
to the cooling chamber. The first team member then puts the metal cap back
onto the furnace. Once the sample is in the cooling chamber, do not touch the
thermocouple or the sample.
12. Cooling Data and Curve. Using the stopwatch provided, begin taking time and
temperature data and plotting it as you go on your cooling curve axes. A
strategy: one person monitors the time, another person writes down the
temperatures, and the third person plots the data. It’s important to plot as you
go (not waiting until after the cooling has completed). Your alloy needs to be
completely solid for a few minutes to get the last part of the cooling curve that
means well below the eutectic temperature. This step should involve all three
team members, and it takes about 20 minutes to complete.
13. Return Alloy Sample to Rack. When your cooling is complete, remove the
thermocouple from your sample. Using the hook, place your sample back in its
original position in the rack of samples.

Known Alloy Cooling Curve

1. Cooling Curve. Produce a cooling curve from your temperature-time data points.
Examine your data and use a straight edge: you are looking for regions of
constant slope, trends in the data points, and changes in slope. Do not simply
“connect the dots” of your cooling data. There will likely be a thermal arrest in
your plot. See your instructor if you have questions about producing your cooling
curve.
2. Labeled Cooling Curve. Label all phase regions and reactions on your cooling
curve (like that shown in Figure 3). Label the temperature(s) where any phase
changes occurred.

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3. Microstructure Sketches. Sketch the microstructures that occur at each region of

your cooling curve. It’s best to put these sketches on your cooling curve plot.
Microstructures are important so make neat and careful sketches. Label all of the
phases in each microstructure. Be sure you distinguish between the proeutectic
and eutectic phases.

Unknown Alloy Composition

1. A or B. Choose either one of the unknown alloy compositions: A or B.
2. Heating and Cooling. Repeat the Heating and Cooling steps for your unknown
alloy composition. Be sure to rotate the tasks in your lab team so that the same
people are not making this next cooling curve. It’s important to have a separate
plot for your unknown alloy (and not simply use the axes from the known
sample). CAUTION: the metal furnace cap and the furnace are hot.
3. Cooling Curve. Repeat the procedure for producing a cooling curve for your
unknown composition. This includes a completely labeled cooling curve along
with microstructure sketches.

Calculations with the Known Composition

Assume you have 500 grams of your KNOWN alloy. For what follows, show all of your calculations on a
separate page from your cooling curves and your phase diagram. Sketch your tie line separate from the
phase diagram and completely label it (as shown in the extracted tie line on p. 9).

1. Temperature in 2-Phase Region. Choose a temperature within the two-phase

region containing liquid ( + L or  + L) and draw a tie line on your Pb-Sn phase
diagram. List the temperature you are considering.
2. Phase Compositions. Determine the compositions of the phases at that
temperature. Do this on the tie line that you reproduce in your lab notebook with
this answer.
3. Phase Amounts. Determine the amounts (grams) of the phases at that
temperature.

Questions
1. Explain how each of the three characteristics of solid solutions listed on p. 2 is
shown graphically on a typical phase diagram. Notes: (1) these characteristics are shown
all in the solid phase, that is, below the eutectic temperature. (2) Be sure that the response to this
question is clearly identified in THREE parts: 1, 2, and 3.

2. Explain why a change in slope (for example what is shown at 240C in Fig. 3),
not a thermal arrest, occurs in a cooling curve.
3. (a) Explain why a thermal arrest occurs in a cooling curve. (b) What specific
reaction is occurring during thermal arrest?
4. Determine the overall alloy composition of your unknown alloy sample using your
cooling curve and the Pb-Sn phase diagram in your lab notebook. The
composition will not be one of the ones already at your lab station. Include an
explanation of how you determined the composition.

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Use the Pb-Sn phase diagram in your lab notebook, NOT a phase diagram in this lab write up, to solve the
following problem.

5. A 35 wt.%Sn alloy is slowly cooled from the liquid.

(a) At what temperature does the first solid form?
(b) What is the composition of this first solid?

Briefly explain how you determined your answers.

This is an important problem for this lab and for your understanding of phase diagrams. Remember
that compositions are always read off the x-axis of phase diagrams (%Sn, %Pb) and usually do not
involve mathematical calculations.

6. Two Pb-Sn alloys are in the running to be used in a structural application that will
see a maximum temperature of 185C. Alloy 1 contains 10 wt.% Sn; alloy 2 has
20 wt.% Sn. Using the phase diagram, determine which alloy to use and why.

Notebook Check
• Cooling curves for known alloy and unknown alloy (completely labeled
including temperatures, phases, reactions, and microstructures for each)
• Pb-Sn phase diagram showing evidence of your calculations
• Tie line and lever rule calculations – this should include the tie line that you
used for your calculations
• Answers to questions

Clean Up
• Each of the alloy samples should be in its original location.

• The digital thermocouple readout and exhaust hood should be turned OFF.
• The furnace cap should be on the furnace.
• Generally look around your lab area to make sure it is clean and well
organized for the next lab team.
• Push the stools underneath the lab table.

Page | 13 Lab 4: Phase Diagrams