Early stage clustering behavior in Al-Mg-Si alloys observed via time dependent magnetization

Time dependent magnetization of Al-0.67 at.%Mg-0.73 at.%Si, Al-1.07 at.%Mg-0.33 at.%Si and Al-1.07 at.%Mg-0.53 at.%Si alloys are presented over a range of constant temperatures between 250 and 320 K. The magnetization vs. time curves for the samples show minima for temperatures near 290 K. The observed times at which the magnetization minima occur were found to depend on both the solute concentrations and the measurement temperatures. From these results the activation energies from the Si-rich clustering stage to the Mg-Si co-clustering stage were extracted. The deduced activation energies were found to be comparable to those from the positron annihilation measurements, depending on the solute concentrations.