Archaeometallurgical research periodically encounters alloys which may not have been used for centuries and for which published data are limited. One such alloy system is As-Cu-Sb. Its first use was around 4000BC in the Levant and appears in the Nahal Mishmar hoard in the Israel Museum. A typical composition is Cu - 6% As - 12% Sb. This has a liquidus temperature of around 600ºC and the melt has the lowest viscosity of any casting alloy I have seen. Interpreting the microstructures is a challenge because the ternary diagram has never been constructed, although the binaries have. There are ternary intermetallics and if anybody has data on ther compositions I would appreciate it to add to what I already have, which I am happy to share.
Regards,
Peter Northover
------------------------------
Peter Northover
Retired
University of Oxford
+44 1865 820543
peter.northover@retired.ox.ac.uk------------------------------