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  • 1.  Unusual alloys - As-Cu-Sb

    Posted 03-19-2021 08:15
    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

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    Peter Northover
    Retired
    University of Oxford
    +44 1865 820543
    peter.northover@retired.ox.ac.uk
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