Alloys with a miscibility gap in the liquid state such as
Al–Pb or Al–Bi are potential materials for advanced bearings
in automotive applications. Typically, soft metal elements
such as Pb, Sn, In and Bi could be incorporated in
harder metal matrices such as Cu, Al or Al–Si, to produce
alloys for bearing applications with a drastically lower friction
coefficient and a very small wear resistance compared
to the standard alloys used in car engines: bronze and lead
[1]. Such immiscible alloys cannot be cast using conventional
casting methods due to the large density difference
between the two phases in their liquid state [1,2], impeding
the required dispersion of the soft Pb or Bi phase in the
solid microstructure.