The aim of the present work is identifying and characterizing the intermetallic phases and the associated two-phase and three-phase fields of the central region of the Zr-Nb-Fe phase diagram.
New experimental results are proposed regarding the last revision of this diagram [2003Rag] which includes two ternary intermetallics (λ1: Fe (Nbx Zr1-x)2 and λ2: Zr(NbxFe1-x)2) already reported by our group in previous works [2002Ram], [2002Gra], [2003Ram].
As cast and 900ºC heat treated samples of variable compositions, 10<Fe(at. % )<60 and 5<Nb(at.%)< 50 were analyzed by means of optical and scanning electron microscopies, electron microprobe analysis, X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy.
In particular the ranges of existence of the cubic Ti2Ni-type phase (λ1) and of the hexagonal C14-type phase (λ2) were studied. The first one accepted up to 15 at.% Nb and 36 at.% Fe in the studied samples and the latter showed a wide range of compositions being the inferior limit, with respect to the Fe content, near Zr35Nb35Fe30.
References
[2003Rag]: V. Raghavan. Journal of Phase Equilibria 24, 4, 354, (2003).
[2002Ram]: C. Ramos, C. Saragovi, M. Granovsky and D. Arias. Hyperfine Interactions 139/140, 363, (2002).
[2002Gra]: M. S. Granovsky, M. Canay, E. Lena and D. Arias. Journal of Nuclear Materials 302, 1, 1, (2002).
[2003Ram]: C. Ramos, C. Saragovi, M. Granovsky and D. Arias. Journal of Nuclear Materials 312, 2-3, 266, (2003).
E-mail: arias@cnea.gov.ar