Hardness assessment of Zn–Al alloy by means of Gibbs energies post tempering

This study introduces a novel methodology for predicting the hardness of Zn–Al alloy post-tempering, utilizing their mole fraction and Gibbs energy slope. A linear correlation between these variables and hardness is established -an association not previously documented in the literature. The proposed model achieves an average error of 7%, with errors ranging from nearly 0 up to 9%, the study demonstrates the accessibility to predict the hardness of a binary alloy, this predictive capability significantly reduces reliance on experimental trial-and-error methods, lowering costs and improving material development. Graphical abstract