Experimental Investigation of the Phase Equilibria in the Al-Mn-Zn System at 400°C

Al-Mn-Zn ternary system is experimentally investigated at 400°C using diffusion couples and key alloys. Phase relationships and homogeneity ranges are determined for binary and ternary compounds using EPMA, SEM/EDS, and XRD. Reported ternary compound T3 (Al11Mn3Zn2) is confirmed in this study and is denoted as τ2 in this paper. Two new ternary compounds (τ1 and τ3) are observed in this system at 400°C. τ1 is determined as a stoichiometric compound with the composition of Al31Mn8Zn11. τ3 has been found to have homogeneity range of AlxMnyZnz (x=9–13 at%; y=11–15 at%; z=75–77 at%). The binary compounds Al4Mn and Al11Mn4 exhibit limited solid solubility of around 6 at% and 4 at% Zn, respectively. Terminal solid solution Al8Mn5 is found to have maximum ternary solubility of about 10 at% Zn. In addition, ternary solubility of Al-rich β-Mn′ at 400°C is determined as 4 at% Zn. Zn-rich β-Mn′′ has a ternary solubility of 3 at% Al. The solubility of Al in Mn5Zn21 is measured as 5 at%. Based on the current experimental results, the isothermal section of Al-Mn-Zn ternary system at 400°C has been constructed.

Effect of electron irradiation on the 3C-4H transformation in a Co-Fe alloy

In general, irradiation of materials by high energy electrons, protons or neutrons has been shown to stabilize the existing microstructure against subsequent martensitic transformation. Alloys which have been studied include the binary intermediate phases NiTi and Ni63Al37 and ternary phases between Cu37,5Al62.5 and CU63.6Al36.4 as well as the intermetallic Cu69.01Al17.92 Zn12.17. In these materials, the martensitic transformations are known to be sensitive to small changes in chemical composition and to the degree of long range order. In addition, one should expect the kinetics of martensitic transformations to be sensitive to other forms of structural damage introduced during irradiation also. This spectrum of irradiation-induced phenomena renders the interpretation of results in studies of such concentrated binary and ternary phases rather complicated, therefore.We present here the preliminary results of a study of the effect of electron irradiation on the character of the martensitic transformation in a relatively dilute terminal solid solution of Co+5.75 wt pet Fe, similar in composition to that employed for studies of the transformation mechanism itself.

Correlation of the Crystal Structural and Microstructural Effects of the Interfacial Processes Between Gold and GaAs

The solid state interfacial reaction between gold and GaAs, was found to result in small surface microstructural changes, whereas melting of the reaction product (tentatively identified as AuGa) and subsequent solidification to form the β phase resulted in aligned rectangular protrusions with sharp corners. The rectangular protrusions were found to be much finer in scale after heating in a vacuum than after heating in argon at 1 atm. High cooling rates (e.g. 40°C min−1) during solidification resulted in the formation of both rectangular protrusions and irregularly shaped protrusions with jagged boundaries and topography. The irregular protrusions were associated with a phase tentatively identified as Au2Ga. Rapid cooling at about 600°C min−1 during solidification resulted in the formation of the gold-rich terminal solid solution (α phase) which appeared as aligned rectangular protrusions with rounded corners.