The
kinetics of transformation of the melt spun
Al87Ni7Nd3Cu3 alloy was analysed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and neutron diffraction (ND) experiments. The study of the emerging nanocrystalline grained structure by in situ heat treatment on quenched ribbons of the aluminium rich alloy composition indicates that no detectable nano
crystallisation occurs till temperatures of about 370 K. Changes of the structure occur in two well defined and not overlapped temperature ranges. The thermodynamic optimisation of the Al-rich part of the Al–Ni–Nd–Cu system, by computing calculation of the equilibrium and metastable phase diagrams, is applied to the
kinetics of the
crystallisation of the face-centered-cubic (fcc)-(Al) for the
Al87Ni7Nd3Cu3 alloy. The fcc-(Al) precipitation occurs in a temperature interval of
200 K, although the most rapid structural changes occur at temperatures around 380 K. These results are indicative of the diffusion control of the last stages of the first
crystallisation event. Eutectic precipitation of
fcc-(Al)+Al3Ni is promoted when temperature is about 520 K. The overall analysis shows that primary fcc-(Al)
crystallisation is kinetically hidden.