Short-range order to long-range order transition in a Cu-Ti alloy
Cu-Ti alloys have received attention due to their excellent age-hardenability. The age hardening phenomenon of Cu-Ti alloys is closely related to the early stage transformation involving short-range order (SRO), spinodal decomposition, and long-range order (LRO). Despite many researches, the transition from SRO to LRO state in this alloy system is still not understood. Woychik et al. have found {1 1/2 0} SRO reflections in an electron diffraction pattern of an as-rapidly solidified (RS) Cu-15at.%Ti alloy (All indices are referred with respect to the fcc structure in this paper.). with aging, the SRO reflections were replaced by the 4/5{l 1/2 0} LRO (Dla) reflections. Recently, Yoo found the {1/2 1/2 0} spots as well as the {1 1/2 0} spots in an electron diffraction pattern of an as-RS Cu-15at.%Ti alloy. This result may show that some other metastable phases can be present before the formation of the LRO phase. In the present paper, the initial stages of ordering process will be described.