About the Noble Metal Alloys Model Library
About the Optical Properties Model
Use Cases of the Optical Properties Model
Screening the Color of an Alloy System
The Optical Properties Model can be used to screen the color of an alloy system so that users can find the colors that are optimal for their application. The plot shown here is for an Au-Ag-Cu system. In the example, the entire composition space was screened with a 2 wt.% step size. The alloy microstructure was obtained at each step as annealed at 873.15 K to obtain the equilibrium phases and compositions for accurate color prediction. The standard illuminant is D65 noon daylight, with a 2˚ standard observer viewing angle. The material is assumed to be opaque with a thickness of 10,000 nm.
Designing a Green Gold Alloy by Adjusting Ag Content in Au-10Cu-xAg Alloys
The Optical Properties Model can also be used to design specific colors of gold alloys, such as green or purple gold. The plot here shows the change of color difference (ΔE) between the targeting light green gold color and the simulated alloy color when changing Ag. The target color in Lab color space is [95, -13, 25], representing a light green shade.
Visualizing the Impact of Alloy Thickness and Light Incident Angle on Color
The Optical Properties Model can also be used to visualize the impact of alloy thickness and light incident angle on the color of an alloy, as shown in the plot here for an Ag-Au-Cu system. For this example, intercritical annealing was not selected, as all elements were assumed to dissolve in the FCC phase of pure gold. As can be seen in the plot, as the material thickness increases, the color of gold tends to approach the bulk gold color observed in macroscopic samples.
