Study of the structural and thermal properties of aluminum-copper-zinc alloys

Phase Change Materials (PCMs) are gaining increasing importance in energy storage systems due to their high energy storage densities. These materials store energy by exploiting the latent heat of fusion or vaporization during phase transitions. Optimizing the crystal structure and microstructure of these materials enhances their thermal stability. This paper addresses an important thermodynamic aspect, namely the Specific Heat Capacity (SHC), of aluminum alloys widely used in industry. Various applications (from heat treatment to corrosive materials) demonstrate that SHC (as an intensive property) or SHC (as an extended property) is a fundamental concept in thermodynamics and of great importance in practical applications. In this research, a set of ternary alloys, Al90Cu10-xZnx, with different elemental concentrations Zn (x=0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10), are fabricated by pouring the molten material into specially designed molds. The structural and thermal properties of the samples are studied and it is found that these properties are affected by the partial replacement of Copper with Zinc.