Solution-based thermodynamic modeling, aided by first-principles calculations, is employed here to examine phase transformations in the Al-Sm binary system which may give rise to product phases that are metastable or have a composition that deviates substantially from equilibrium. In addition to describing the pure undercooled Al liquid with a two-state model that accounts for structural ordering, thermodynamic descriptions of the fcc phase, and intermediate compounds (Al4Sm-β, Al11Sm3-α, Al3Sm-δ, and Al2Sm-σ) are reanalyzed using special quasirandom structure and first-principles calculations. The possible phase compositions are presented over a range of temperatures using a “Baker-Cahn” analysis of the energetics of solidification and compared with reports of rapid solidification. The energetics associated with varying degrees of chemical partitioning are quantified and compared with experimental observations of the metastable Al11Sm3-α primary phase and reports of amorphous solids.This article is from Physical Review B 78 (2008): 184111, doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.78.184111.</p
