Quenching a solid solution of a binary metal alloy into the two-phase region of the phase diagram leads to the formation of characteristic precipitate microstructures. Of special importance are coherent precipitates that have no dislocations between the precipitate and the matrix. It will be demonstrated how the size. shape, temperature-dependence and time evolution of the precipitates' distribution can be studied by combining density functional theory calculation with the so-called Mixed-Space Cluster Expansion method (MSCE) and Kinetic-Monte-Carlo simulations. Thereby, the MSCE Hamiltonian allows for a detailed analysis of interface and strain energies and their influence on the precipitate's shape. The focus will be on Al-based lightweight materials, namely Al-Zn, Al-Cu, and Al-Li. For the latter, the precipitates form an intermetallic compound itself, namely the well-known L1₂ structure which is not stable in the bulk phase diagram of Al-Li.

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