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By Paul E. Blackburn, Joan B. Berkowitz-Mattuck, Edward J. Felten

The oxidation behavior of MOSi2 has been studied between 450° and 650°C, the temperature region where "pesling" occurs. Disintegration ("pest-ing") of MoSi2 is shown to occur in the presence of oxygen, but not nitrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide. or argon. The rate of disintegration is extremely sensitive to oxygen pressure. The crack density of polycrystalline MoSi2 increases ivith lime at temperature. All kinds of cracks are observed: THE excellent oxidation resistance of MoSi, at temperatures of 1000 to 1700°C promises to have important technological benefits. However. the ap- Ihose which are confined within a single grain, those that ci'oss grain boundaries transversely, and those that follow grain boundaries. Laue photographs verify the existence of Iranscryslalline cleavage. Single crystals of MOSi2 do not "pest". Tlrcd solrlbility of oxygen in MoSi2 is extremely low, no lattice changes being observed as a result of exposure of MoSi2 to oxygen in the "pest" temperature range. plicability of MoSi2 is somewhat restricted by the occurrence of a completely destructive oxidation of the intermetallic phase at intermediate temperatures (300" to 6003C). This phenomena was ternled to be the "MoSi2 pest" by Fitzer who first observed it.' Molybdenum disilicide is a metallic material in both physical appearance and electrical properties.

Jan 1, 1965

By B. Lustman

IT has been known for a number of years that the addition of certain alkaline-earth and rare-earth metals to nickel-chromium base electric resistance alloys causes marked increase in their oxidation resistance as measured in an intermittent oxidation test similar to the ASTM—B 76-39 test. However, the mechanism whereby such additions confer protection is still unknown. On the basis of the experimental observation that the increase in life in intermittent tests of nickel-base alloys is proportional to the atomic radius of the added element, Hessen-bruchl has proposed that the added metal ions occupy holes in the oxide lattice which prevent diffusion of nickel ions in the oxide. Horn2 has postulated that the effect of such additions is to accelerate the rate of diffusion of chromium atoms in the metal and thus to favor the formation of Cr2O3 scales. Hickman and Gulbransen3 concluded from electron diffraction observation that the addition of the elements in question results in the formation of a barrier to the diffusion of nickel ions to the surface. In connection with some experiments conducted to develop a test for the resistance to oxidation of alloys in massive form under conditions of intermittent heating and cooling, some features of the oxidation of nickel-chromium base alloys were revealed which may serve to elucidate the mechanism of protection conferred by rare-earth and alkaline-earth elements. Specimens of cylindrical shape 0.360 in. diam x 0.37 in. long were placed in alumina thimbles and inserted into and withdrawn from a Globar-heated furnace operating at 2150°F at 7.5-min intervals. The weight of oxygen absorbed as well as the weight of oxide spalled were measured at intervals. With the particular experimental conditions used, the specimens in a 7.5-min cycle were at temperature for 2 min which corresponds to the heating time of the ASTM test. The weight changes of similar specimens under conditions of continuous heating in air at 2150°F were also measured. The specimens after oxidation were examined metal- lographically and samples of the spalled oxide collected for X-ray diffraction identification of the phases. The specimens used were from the same lot of material used by Hickman and Gulbransen3 and had the compositions shown in table 1. Included in table I are results of ASTM life tests on the materials in the form of wires. These materials, their composition and the ASTM life test data thereon were all supplied by F. E. Bash of the Driver-Harris Co. It may be noted that alloy 13246 of 80 pct nickel, 20 pct chromium nominal composition showed the shortest life in the ASTM test; alloy 12246 with the addition of small amounts of the elements zirconium, calcium, and aluminum, intermediate life; and alloy 12046 with the further addition of silicon, the longest life. In fig. 1 are shown the results of intermittent oxidation tests made on bulk specimens at 2150°F as well as continuous tests conducted at the same temperature. Duplicate tests were made on each specimen. The ordinate scale, inches of metal oxidized, was derived from the experimentally observed weight gain of oxygen by assuming the scale to be entirely Cr2O3. It may be noted that the metal-loss curves during intermittent oxidation show a constant or continuously increasing rate of weight

Jan 1, 1951

By H. C. van Elst

Ultrahigh-speedphotographic and electronic meth-ods were applied to an investigation of details of brittle-fracture propagation in steel. The brittle fractures studied were obtained in steel plate with the aid of a Robertson apparatus. It was found that a brittle fracture proceeds by discrete steps ranging from 30 mm near the stop temperature to less than 2 mm at lower temperatures. The halting FROM prior metallographic observations of brittle fracture in steel' it could be concluded that the distribution of mechanical twins along a brittle fracture was similar to the distribution of mechanical twins induced by explosive deformation. It was therefore assumed that a running brittle fracture created stress waves, cf. Refs. 2-7. An emission of stress waves by a brittle fracture, however, seems only conceivable if the fracture propagates by discrete steps. For this reason a study of the details of times between successive steps drop in this tem-perature region from 20 usec to about 1 psec. The stepwise propagation mechanism is accompanied by an intermittent emission of stress waves of the order of 100 to 200 kg per sq mm. These stress waves seen1 to play an important role in the mechanism of brittle fracture as will be discussed. brittle-fracture propagation was undertaken to investigate the possible determination of the fracture steps and the emitted stress waves associated with the assumed mechanism. The more practical object of this work is the development of a test method for the determination of the ductile-brittle transition in small specimens. This has special advantages for the study of irradiation damage in steel. In this test method, which will be published in a following paper, the stress waves emitted by an actual brittle fracture are reproduced with explosive or electrical means and are then transmitted through small specimens at various temperatures. In the present paper only the results of the brittle-fracture study will be reported.

Jan 1, 1964

By Y. C. Liu

THE existence of mechanical twins in bcc metals has long been known. With recent intensive interest in the mechanism of twin formation and its role in plasticity and crack initiation, a study of the general Characteristics of twin intersection appears pertinent. The scope of the present note will be limited to the crystallography of the twin intersections of (112) twins, without consideration of its mechanism, movement of atoms, crystal structure, or the strain energy involved at such an intersection. The twinning elements of (112) twins are considered to be K1 = {112}, n1 = (111) and K2 = {112}, n2 = (111) with a twin shear of 0.707. The crystallographic features of twin intersections have been worked out in detail by Cahn.1 The present work applies the general principles postulated by Cahn to the intersections of (112) twins. The basic conditions for the twin intersection are: 1) The trace of crossing (A) and the secondary (C) twins in the planes of the crossed twin (B) must be parallel. 2) The direction (n1) and magnitude (s) of shear must be identical in the crossing and secondary twins. Also the sense of shear must be the same. These two conditions have to be fulfilled in order to maintain geometrical continuity at the twin interfaces. Fig. 1 shows the perspective representation of how these two conditions are fulfilled at the intersection. This type of intersection will be named Type-I. It is the purpose of this note to point out the existence of another type of intersection, Type-II, as shown in Fig. 2. In this type of intersection, the crossing twin A remains straight and the crossed twin B has been bent. The two conditions laid down by Cahn must also be met. This leads to the following corollary conditions: 1) The interface between twins B and C must be parallel to the twin habit of crossing twin A. 2) n1c must be parallel to n1A. 3) The twin shear (s) of twin C must be exactly equal to and in the same sense as that of crossing twin A. Thus, in order for the Type-II intersection to take place, the twining elements of secondary twin C must fulfill the above three conditions with respect to crossing twin A. Let K1 of crossed twin B be (112). All indices of the matrix can therefore be converted into new in-

Jan 1, 1963

By R. P. Smith, L. S. Darken

FOR a high-purity iron-carbon alloy, the phases existing at equilibrium at temperatures slightly above the temperature of the metastable eutectoid are austenite and cementite (hyper-eutectoid) or austenite and ferrite (hypo-eutectoid) and those below the eutectoid temperature (carbdn content > 0.02 pct) are ferrite and cementite. Such an alloy, held in a carefully controlled and measured temperature gradient (about 1 cm per deg) which includes the eutectoid temperature, then quenched and examined metallographicall.y, provides a precise measure of the eutectoid temperature. The samples were hollow cylinders approximately 1.3 cm OD, 0.63 cm ID, and 2.5 cm long, which had been carburized to the desired carbon content at 1000°C with an appropriate hydrogen-methane mixture. In order to cool the samples to room temperature with a minimum change of carbon content and absence of cracks they were quenched in a Cerro Bend bath at 480°C, followed by a water quench to room temperature. Three cylinders were suspended in the furnace1 in a purified helium atmosphere, by a closed end, thin wall, silica tube which also served as a thermocouple well. The top and bottom cylinders served only as a means of making the temperature gradient along the center cylinder more uniform. The temperature was determined with a platinum-platinrhodium thermel calibrated by comparison with a thermel certified (* 0.5OC) by the National Bureau of Standards. After holding in the temperature gradient for 24 to 72 hr the samples were quenched in Cerro Bend at 480°C, followed by

Jan 1, 1960

By C. F. Floe, M. Cohen, M. B. Bever, V. G. Paranjpe

NITROGEN is becoming recognized as one of the important elements in ferrous physical metallurgy. Several investigations indicate that nitrogen plays a significant part in such phenomena as strain aging and temper brittleness. Nitrogen is known to be a powerful austenite stabilizer and may be a useful alloying element in stainless steels. The hard-enability of steels has been found to be increased by nitrogen. The nitriding and carbonitriding pro- cesses are examples of successful industrial application of nitrogen in ferrous materials. For a complete understanding of the various roles played by nitrogen in ferrous metallurgy a knowledge of the phase relations in the binary iron-nitrogen system is essential. The literature contains a variety of iron-nitrogen phase diagrams. Those suggested by Fry, Sawyer,² Epstein and his coworkers,³,4 Lehrer,5 Eisenhut and Kaupp, and Hägg7,8 differ significantly from one another. Moreover, the most recent of these investigations dates back about twenty years. A re-determination of the entire diagram, therefore, appeared desirable. In addition to the published phase diagrams, investigations have been carried out on portions of the iron-nitrogen system. Bramley and Haywood determined the composition and temperature of the iron-iron nitride eutectoid. The maximum solubility of nitrogen in a iron was investigated by Portevin and Seferian10 and by Diikstra. 11 Several investigators have determined the crystal structure of the various iron-nitrogen phases. In fact, Eisenhut and Kaupp6 and Hägg7 based their entire phase diagrams on the results of such studies. Epstein' and Emmett12 reported lattice-parameter measurements on the E (hexagonal close-packed) phase. Osawa and Iwaisumi13 also studied the change in lattice parameters of the a, ? and E phases with nitrogen content. Brill" and Hägg7 showed that the y' phase has an ordered structure, and Hendricks and Kostingsl5 suggested a structural relation between the E and phases. In a recent investigation Jackl6 arefully studied the super-lattice reflections from the y' and phases. Experimental Procedure A large variety of experimental methods has been used by previous investigators in studying the iron-nitrogen system. These methods include thermal analysis, microscopic examination, X ray diffraction, magnetic measurements, dilatometric analysis and anelastic experiments. Thermal analysis is of low accuracy in determining changes in the solid state. This accuracy is further decreased for iron-nitrogen alloys since composition changes will occur during heating or cooling unless extreme care is taken to use a proper atmosphere. Metallographic methods are of small value . because homogeneous iron-nitrogen alloys of sufficient size can be produced only with great difficulty. The dilatometric method is open to the same objections as thermal analysis in that changes in composition may occur during heating and cooling. Lattice parameter measurements by X ray diffraction can be used satisfactorily for determining phase boundaries if cooling is fast enough to prevent structural changes. In view of the limitations of the various other techniques two methods only were adopted in this investigation, (1) X ray diffraction measurements, and (2) a controlled nitrogenizing method. The second method is an innovation for investigating the iron-nitrogen system, and will be described at length. Materials: All iron-nitrogen alloys were prepared from carbonyl iron powder of the analysis shown in table I. The average particle size was about 20

Jan 1, 1951

By C. F. Floe, M. Cohen, M. B. Bever, V. G. Paranjpe

P. Coheur and L. Habraken—We read this paper with great interest and are glad to congratulate the authors for their valuable work, supplying an important contribution to the mechanism of tempering on the carbides in vanadium steels. We are in a good position to appreciate this work since we have been studying, for more than a year, Cr-Mo steels of a composition similar, but less highly alloyed (namely 0.1 pct C, 3 pct Cr, 1 pct Mo). Our results are quite in concordance with the authors', however, we wish to point out that it is very interesting to use equally the electron microscope in order to observe the variations of microstructure in steels. We have studied simultaneously the evolution of the carbides in situ with the electron microscope, and, after extraction, again with the electron microscope, and then with X-rays. The first results which we have obtained have been communicated at the Congress of Delft (July 1949) and at the "Journees de la Metallurgie" in Paris (October 1949). These may be summarized as follows: After tempering with varying either the tempering temperatures or the tempering times, the carbides show two evolutions. The first one is connected to the carbides existing in the steels, principally in the boundaries of the grains. For some groups of steels these carbides may coalesce and for other groups they may

Jan 1, 1951

By A. H. Willis

In this paper the results of an exploratory study conducted by personnel of the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory on 18.6, 22, and 40 wt pct uranium-zirconium alloy will be presented. LARGE power output and long life or endurance from small, compact nuclear reactors require the use of enriched uranium for a fuel material. However, the ability to remove heat from the element, the tolerable fission product concentration, or some physical limitation of the system can limit the allowable fuel enrichment, or the volume of the fuel. In such an event, the fuel-element designer must find a suitable diluent for the uranium. Zirconium is an attractive material for such a purpose as it has good nuclear properties and a low absorption cross section. Because it has a good corrosion resistance in water, zirconium is a suitable cladding and the uranium-zirconium alloy makes a good core material. The alloy has a high thermal conductivity, a low elastic modulus, and a low thermal-expansion coefficient, all of which tend to minimize the thermal stresses in the core. Furthermore, the unirradiated material is reasonably ductile and has adequate strength. DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLES Two types of cylindrical samples were used in this study 1) short, 1/2-to 1-in.-long samples to test the irradiation stability of the alloy and 2) 2-ft-long samples to investigate the resistance of an element to longitudinal deformation. Composite samples having 0.060-to 0.140-in. core diameters and clad with a 0.010-in. thick zirconium jacket were fabricated by coextrusion and by hydrostatic pressure bonding of the cladding to the preformed core material. Both fabrication processes produced the uniform metallurgical core-to-cladding bond which was felt necessary to minimize the uncertainty of the central core temperature. Both consumable-arc and induction-melting techniques were used to melt the uranium-sponge zirconium core alloy. Since a graphite crucible was used in induction-melting this alloy contained more carbon impurity, which resulted in a finer grain size than the arc-melted alloy. The core to cladding interface was uniform in elements coextruded from the fine-grain, induction-melted core material, while those elements fabricated using arc-melted core material had very irregular interfaces because of the coarser grain size. Both cold-worked and heat-treated fuel materials were irradiation tested. Cold-worked alloys were swaged to about a 5 pct final reduction in area without subsequent annealing. The heat-treated alloys were heated to 800°C, held at temperature for 15 min and furnace-cooled to about room temperature. This

Jan 1, 1960

By M. Cohen, D. J. Blickwede

Quantitative observations concerning the carbide phases in high speed steel are of importance for two general reasons: (1) the carbides, being inevitable constituents of the final structure, exert a direct influence on the properties of the steel; and (2) a substantial proportion of the total alloy content is tied-up in the carbides, and hence the extent of their solution on austenitizing governs the composition of the steel matrix. The latter relationship has a vital bearing on the response of the steel to tempering as well as on its performance in subsequent service. Accordingly, in the course of a long-term study of the behavior of high speed steels, the authors were confronted with the problem of securing quantitative data on the carbide phases. The obvious method for acquiring such information is to isolate the car-bides from the steel and subject them to chemical, X ray diffraction and other measurements. There are well-known extraction techniques which involve the chemical or electrolytic solution of the less noble matrix (ferrite, marten-site or austenite), thus leaving a residue of the carbide phases. However, the results obtained must be scrutinized carefully1,2 since the carbides may be affected by the chemical or electrolytic action. It is the purpose of the present paper to describe the experiments leading to an electrolytic-extraction technique for quantitatively isolating the carbides from both I and hardened high speed steel. Particular attention is paid to the amount, as well as the composition, of the carbides so that the matrix analysis becomes ascertainable by subtraction from the overall steel composition. Illustrative results are given for the M-2 grade of tungsten-molybdenum steel. Review of the Literature The chemical method of dissolving the matrix selectively with respect to the carbides makes use of dilute non- oxidizing reagents such as hydrochloric or sulphuric acid. Although this simple procedure has led to the determination of the cementite composition,3,4 it achieved only limited success because of the interaction between the acid and the carbide residue. Some of the carbides may not only be destroyed in this way, but the hydrogen released is likely to remove part of their carbon as hydrocarbon gases. The electrolytic technique of isolating carbides has the advantage of rapidly dissolving the specimen (anode) in the presence of less reactive solutions than are practicable with the chemical method. This reduces the possibility of chemical attack on the carbides, and furthermore, the hydrogen evolved during the electrolysis is released at the cathode which is not in close proximity to the carbides. The common electrolytes adopted for this purpose are hydrochloric and sulphuric acids.5-l1 Aqueous solutions of ferrous salts have also been used.12,13 A considerable advance in experimental technique was introduced by Treje and Benedicks14 who developed a double-compartment cell for electrolytic extraction, the anode and cathode chambers being separated by a porous diaphragm. A solution of 15 pct sodium citrate, 2 pct potassium bromide and 1 pct potassium iodide was selected for the anolyte, while the catholyte consisted of a 10 pct solution of copper sulphate, with copper serving as the cathode. This type of cell has a number of desirable characteristics: 1. The anolyte has a pH value close to 7, at least at the beginning of the run. 2. The iron that dissolves from the anode-specimen forms a water-soluble complex ion with the citrate, thereby preventing the precipitation of iron hydroxide (which would contaminate the carbide residue) despite the neutrality of the solution. 3. Copper deposition instead of hydrogen evolution occurs at the cathode, and this avoids an increasing concentration of hy-droxyl ions which (in an otherwise neutral solution) might cause the precipitation of insoluble hydroxides. 4. Contamination of the anode chamber by copper sulphate is inhibited by the porous diaphragm. Houdremont and coworkers15 applied the above method (with the further refinement of excluding oxygen during the electrolysis, washing and drying) to the extraction of carbides from a series of plain carbon steels after various heat treatments. They had quantitative success only with specimens in the annealed condition, and concluded that the size and shape of the carbide particles play an important role in the isolation process, with large spheroids exhibiting the least tendency to decompose during the electrolysis. Up to the present time, the citrate double-cell has not been used to any extent for isolating the carbides of high alloy steels, apparently on the grounds that the complex carbides are more resistant than cementite to attack in the simpler acid electrolytes. In particular, Bain and Grossmann7 and Gulyaev10.10a have employed the hydrochloric acid cell for their investigations of the carbides in high speed steel.* It will be demonstrated here that this type of cell is capable of yielding quantitative results in the case of high speed steel, and actually has certain advantages over the more complicated double cell. However, in order to provide a rigorous test of the quanti-tativeness of electrolytic procedures for the problem at hand, both methods were studied in considerable detail.

Jan 1, 1950

By J. M. Lommel, B. Chalmers

The transfer of material from the solid to the liquid states can be accomplished in several ways. It occurs by the application of heat in the more familiar metallurgical operations of melting but it can also be accomplished by solution in a liquid, as can occur in systems using liquid metals for heat-transfer media. The kinetics of this reaction were studied to learn more of the separate steps in the process. In the case of a pure material at its melting temperature, Te,A,, thermal energy must be supplied to the solid in an amount equal to the latent heat of fusion in order for the solid-to-liquid transfer to occur. The rate at which heat is supplied, and hence the rate of melting, is a function of the temperature gradients in the system. This phase transfer can also occur in the absence of temperature gradients in the system illustrated in Fig. 1, which is a partial phase diagram between the components A and B. A solid of composition CI will

Jan 1, 1960

By R. H. Fillnow, D. J. Mac

IT has been demonstrated that alloys in systems structurally analogous to steel undergo reactions during heat treatment similar to those of steel, and yet very little work has been done on such systems, particularly from the standpoint of isothermal transformation. The literature shows that most of the isothermal work has been done on copper-alu-minum alloys.'-3 One paper has been reported on a eutectoid copper-silicon alloy,' and one on iron-nitrogen alloys.' There are no published reports of previous investigations on the isothermal transformation of a eutectoid beryllium bronze. At least two papers have been reported on isothermal age-hardening phenomena in beryllium-copper alloys of lower beryllium content.5,6 No information on eutectoid transformations in this alloy is given in Rimbach's book, "Beryllium." ' This paper reports the results of an investigation on the isothermal transformation characteristics of a eutectoid beryllium bronze. Materials Used and Procedure The eutectoid beryllium bronze used in this investigation was centrifugally cast at the Ampco Metal Co., Inc.. Milwaukee. Wis. A master beryl-lium-copier alloy, purchased from the Brush Beryllium Co., was used to make the beryllium addition to the copper. The alloy was melted under a protective carbon cover and Centrifugally cast into a graphite mold preheated to 920°F. Some trouble with segregation of beryllium in the melt was encountered but was eliminated by violent stirring during melting and pouring. Since very thin .specimens were used for the various heat treatments, only one casting of the four prepared was necessary for the complete isothermal study, thus eliminating any discrepancies caused by a change in composition. The analysis of this casting was 94.035 pct copper and 5.965 pct beryllium. A slight trace of iron was found. The castings were sawed into specimens approximately 3/32 in. in thickness. The specimens were first given an "austenitizing" heat treatment at 788°C, well within the single phase beta region, in a vertical tube furnace. The specimens were then quenched individually into an adjacent molten salt bath and held there for a definite time, after which they were quenched into water at room temperature. Temperature was held to ± 2°C in the salt bath. No homogenizing treatment was given the specimens other than the soak at 788°C. Despite the fact that this was a cast alloy, no evidence of segregation or coring was found in the microstructure of any specimen, either as cast or as heat-treated. Upon completion of the heat treatment, the speci-mens were subjected to metallographic examination

Jan 1, 1951

By G. L. Kehl, Emilo Jaraiz F., J. S. Brett

The transformation of eutectoid beryllium bronze has been quantitatively investigated at 550° and 592°C, the temperature region where the products of p decomposition are a fine lamellar eutectoid and a coarse lamellar aggregate which replaces the fine eutectoid with prolonged annealing. Metallographic evidence indicates that the coarse lamellar aggregate forms preferentially in the most densely lamellated regions of the fine eutectoid and favors the hypothesis that the development of the coarse lamellar aggregate in the fine eutectoid is due to the occurence of a cellular segregation reaction. WHEN eutectoid beryllium bronze (Cu-94 pct, Be-6 pct) is isothermally transformed at high temperatures in the and y region after quenching from the fl field, the principal initial decomposition process is G one of growth of approximately spherical nodules composed of a number of lamellar colonies of the a and y phases. After the initial reaction has proceeded substantially or completely, depending on the transformation temperature, a second reaction occurs wherein the fine lamellar eutectoid is replaced by a coarser lamellar aggregate composed of the same oand yphases.' This reaction is not simply a spheroidization of the initial fine eutectoid but the nucleation and growth of a coarser, structurally different, and more stable distribution of the @and yphases. Fig. 1 illustrates the replacement of the initial fine lamellar structure by a coarse lamellar aggregate. The a phase is the dark mottled constituent; the light constituent the y phase. The phase diagram for the copper-rich end of the Cu-Be system2 is shown in Fig. 2. The a phase has the face-centered cubic structure characteristic of copper-rich solid solutions. The B phase is a disordered body-centered cubic structure, while the y phase is body-centered cubic, ordered (CsC1, B2 type). A. viswanathanS investigating Debye patterns of Cu-6 pct Be discovered that a transitory phase appeared on very rapid quenching from the /3 region which was absent when the quenching velocity was moderate. The phase could be assigned a body-centtred cubic structure with a lattice parameter of 2.876. Tempering at 100°C for 2 hr after quenching resulted in complete disappearance of the phase. The work of Fillnow and Mack' is the only previously published study of the isothermal transformation of eutectoid beryllium bronze. Their study elucidated the nature of decomposition at various subcritical temperatures in an exploratory fashion. The purpose of the research reported in this paper was principally to obtain quantitative information on the isothermal decomposition of the fl phase and to clarify the relationships existing between the fine lamellar eutectoid and the coarse lamellar aggregate. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The material used in this investigation was an almost eutectoid Cu-Be alloy bar furnished by D.J. Mack. The alloy had been melted under a protective carbon cover and centrigugally cast into a graphite mold preheated to 490 "C. Segregation was minimized by violent agitation during melting and pouring. The analysis of the casting was 93.85 pct Cu, 5.60 pet Be with traces of Si, Mg, Mn, Co, and Al. To determine the minimum soaking time necessary to insure specimen homogeneity, a number of specimens were held in the P region at 788OC for times fron 1 min to 12 hr and isothermally transformed at 550°C. Specimens betatized less than 12 min exhibited partial transformation at times shorter

Jan 1, 1961

By L. E. Tanner

A study was made of the transformation kinetics of the commercial titanium-base alloys, Ti-2.5Al-16V and Ti-4A1-3Mo-1V, using two different heat treatment cycles: 1) step-quenching to aging temperatures from a ß solution anneal and 2) water-quenching from an a+ß solution anneal followed by reheating to aging temperatures. Metallographic examination and hardness testing provided the major portion of the data, while electrical resistivity, dynamic elastic modulus, and X-ray diffraction techniques were also used to obtain critical or confirnzatory data. TTT diagrams were constructed from these results. The sheet alloys, Ti-2.5Al-16V and Ti-4Al-3Mo-lV, are of current interest to the Department of Defense. As an aid to the planning of their respective heat treatments, a program was carried out to determine the transformation kinetics of these alloys using ß and a + ß reference states. This paper presents the TTT diagrams constructed from data obtained by metallographic examination and hardness testing, as well as by X-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, and dynamic elastic modulus determinations. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Materials—Sheets of the alloys were obtained from the producers in the "mill anneal'' condition and were tested prior to shipment to assure their meeting mill specifications. Chemical analyses were also supplied and are presented in Table I. Heat Treatment—The majority of the data presented in this study were obtained from hardness testing and metallographic examination. Sample coupons were cut from the alloy sheets and heat treated on a mass scale. The annealing cycles were operated in the following manner: 1) The ß solution anneals were carried out in a horizontal tube furnace with the bare samples protected by a dynamic helium atmosphere. Following this treatment, the samples were quickly transferred to lead, solder, or oil-bath furnaces for aging. After prescribed times at the various reaction temperatures they were water-quenched. 2) The second cycle simulated commercial practice, which requires the alloys be quenched to room temperature following the a + ß sotution anneal. This anneal was carried out in a muffle furnace with a dynamic helium atmosphere. The specimens were then reheated from room temperature to the reaction temperatures in lead, solder, or oil-bath furnaces, followed by water-quenching after prescribed times at these temperatures. Information concerning the critical temperatures of the alloys was obtained from the literature and solution treatments were based on these values. A summary of the solution annealing treatments is found in Tables II and 111. The aging temperatures for the (a - ß alloys ranged in 50°C intervals from 200°C (392oF) to approximately 50°C below the ß/a + ß transus in the first cycle and approximately 50°C below the a + ß solution temperature in the second. The transformations in these alloys were known to be rather rapid, and thus aging times started at 0.5 min and went to a maximum of 7000 min. Hardness Testing and Metallographic Preparation— Heat-treated samples were sheared and mounted in Bakelite with their cut edges exposed. After a flat surface was ground, the hardness was determined in Vpn on an Armstrong-Vickers machine utilizing a 20-kg load. Three to four impressions were made on each specimen. After this procedure, the hardness impressions were removed and the edge surfaces of the specimens were prepared for metallographic examination in the usual manner. The etchant was 20 pct HF and 20 pct HNO3 in glycerine. Electrical Resistivity—It has been shown that the isothermal reactions in titanium-base alloys can be followed by measuring the changes in e1etrical resistivity attending these transformations. As mentioned earlier, the reaction kinetics of a-ß alloys are rather rapid; thus, it would be expected that resistivity data obtained from these alloys would be more significant if measurements were made continuously at the respective aging temperatures. To accomplish this end a special apparatus, based on the current-potential principle, was assembled. Its design was derived from earlier devices constructed by Colner and zmeska1 4 and Levinson.5 The set-up provided for the heat treatment zof machined specimens (approximately 2 x l0-4in. in cross section by 3 in. in length) and the determination of their relative

Jan 1, 1962

By G. B. Gibbs

Equations are developed which describe the growth of graphite nodules during a-phase graphi-tization under various limiting conditions. When carbon diffusion is rate controlling a modified Birchenall-Mead equation predicts an "apparent activation energy" of 31 keal mole-1 for the parabolic growth constant. If reaction at the graphite or cementite interface is the slowest process growth kinetics are linear and the activation energy must be >50 keal mole-1. A comparison with the experimental observations confirms that carbon diffusion determines the rate of reaction. Apart from minor approximations associated with Lou! carbon solubility in a iron the theory may also be applied to I-phase graphitization. It is well-known that cementite exists as a meta-stable phase in Fe-C alloys and that if a specimen is held at diffusion temperatures for a sufficiently long period the cementite decomposes and graphite is precipitated. Graphitization occurs by the nu-cleation and growth of carbon nodules and several impurity elements catalyze the reaction when present in minute amounts.1 The growth kinetics of nodules have been extensively investigated in the fee ? range2, 3 and recently in the bee a range.1, 4 Experimental growth curves (nodule radius vs time) have slopes which decrease with time, but the scatter of points is generally too great for the precise shape of the curves to be determined with certainty. Birchenall and Mead5 concluded that they are parabolic in ? iron, indicating diffusion control, and that the migration of carbon atoms determines the growth rate. Harris et al, 1 advanced similar ideas for a-phase graphitization. On the other hand, Burke3 chose to regard the initial growth region as a transient followed by a linear law indicating interface control (i.e., cementite decomposition or graphite crystallization as the slowest process). Jeminson and Higgins6 originally considered the initial steep portions of "parabolie" to represent a linear growth law also. In support of these ideas it has been noted that the apparent ac-

Jan 1, 1965

By F. V. Lenel, G. S. Ansell, M. J. Salkind

An experiment is described in which the growth of interparticle necks in an array of loose spherical silver powder at temperatures near 300°C was determined by measuring changes in the electrical resistance of the array. The activation energy for neck growth of contacts was derived by abruptly changing temperature and noting the change in the rate of neck growth. Since the experiments were run under an external load, the changes in activation energy with stress could he determined. The activation energy was found to decrease rapidly with increasing stress. It is concluded that the material transport in the experiments is one of plastic flow by dislocation motion. The variation of activation energy with stress is typical for cross slip of dislocations, an important material transport mechanism in the temperature range investigated. THE process in which powder compacts or aggregates of loose powder are held at an elevated temperature under an external load is called hot pressing or sintering under pressure by powder metallurgists. In this investigation the early stages of this process as applied to loose spherical silver- powder aggregates were studied. The powder particles were approximately 100µ in diameter and the temperature was near 300°C, i.e., below one half of the melting point of silver in degrees Kelvin, where volume diffusion is not expected to contribute to sintering. In the process, the contact or neck areas between powder particles grow. Since this involves plastic deformation of the particles under a constant external load (even though not under constant stress) it would be termed creep by mechanical metallurgists. On the other hand, the growth in neck area observed in compacts or loose-powder aggregates held at elevated temperature without the application of an external load is termed sintering by powder metallurgists. During sintering the major driving force is the stress due to surface tension. However, even when no load is placed on the compact or powder aggregate, an external stress, i.e., gravity, plays an important role in sintering in addition to those stresses arising from surface tension, as was shown in two previous investigations.'" It is therefore postulated that no sharp dividing line can be drawn between the phenomena of "creep" and "sintering". Different material transport mechanisms may be involved in either of these phenomena, but they will depend upon the temperature and the level of stress, but not necessarily upon the nature of the driving force: surface tension or external load. At the low temperatures of this investigation, an external stress much higher than the stress due to surface tension is necessary to obtain measurable rates of neck growth. In order to avoid misunderstanding this phenomenon will be called "creep". The rate of growth in contact area in the loose silver-powder aggregates was determined by meas-

Jan 1, 1965

By G. R. Speich, L. Zwell, H. A. Wriedt

HORNBOGEN1 has recently shown that it is possible to measure the degree of segregation accompanying cellular precipitation in ferritic Fe-Zn alloys by measuring the lattice parameter of the ferrite phase within the cell. In extending this work to study a wider range of composition and to evaluate the free-energy change accompanying the growth of the cells, the lattice parameter and the boundary of the a! phase in Fe-Zn alloys were redetermined to check the earlier work of Schramm.2 This appeared to be necessary since the Fe-Zn diagram has been drastically revised since the work of Schramm. Stadelmaier and Bridgers3 have recently shown that, contrary to prior belief: the y iron field is closed and the a phase boundary extends to an a + T + L peritectic at 782°C where peritectic a contains 42 at, pet Zn. The phase T in equilibrium with the a solid solution has a composition near Fe3Zn10 and a cubic 081 type structure.' The alloys were prepared by two different methods. In the first method carbonyl iron powder (400 mesh, 99.8 pet pure) and high-purity zinc powder (200 mesh, 99.99 pet pure) were mixed in a ball mill and then pressed in a die at 40,000 psi pressure to make compacts with a diameter of 5/8 in. and a thickness of l/4 in. These were sealed in evacuated quartz capsules, gradually heated to 1100°C over a period of 1 week (3 days at 600°C) 3 days at 800°C, 1 day at (1100°C), and then quenched in iced brine. For the alloys containing 23.4 and 30.1 at. pet Zn, the final homogenization anneals were performed at 1000" and 850°C) respectively, to prevent melting. In the second method, alloys were prepared by saturating high-purity iron millings (0.001 in. thick, 99.9 pet pure) in zinc vapor. For each alloy the impregnation was conducted at a fixed vapor pressure of zinc and a fixed temperature between 750' and 800°C. When saturated, the millings were quenched in water. The compositions of the alloys prepared by both methods are shown in Table I. The lattice parameters of the ferritic solid solutions were determined by comparing the 26 values of their 310, peaks (using Co Ka) or of their 211 , peaks (using Cr Ka) with those of corresponding peaks for high-purity a iron. The 20 values were measured at room temperature with an X-ray dif-fractometer (G.E.-XRD5). By using a fiducial value of 2.8664Å for the lattice parameter of pure a iron at 25oC,5 the lattice parameters of the zinc-bearing

Jan 1, 1964

By H. T. Clark

Within the last twenty years at least three sets of lattice constants for the room temperature (alpha, hexagonal close packed) phase of titanium have been reported in the literature. These values, summarized in Table 1, differ one from another by amounts far greater than can be explained on the basis of inaccuracies in parameter measurements. This paper presents new values determined for high purity titanium. It also details the effect of two elements, oxygen and nitrogen, on these parameters and shows that two of the previously reported values are probably in error because of the presence of one or both of these elements in the material used for examination. Preparation of Samples The titanium+ used for this study was prepared by the thermal decomposition of titanium tetraiodide7 on a hot titanium filament. This titanium rod was prepared for X ray examination by melting about 10 g in purified argon in an electric arc furnace on a cold hearth. This cast button was cold rolled to 0.040 in. thick sheet, cleaned, annealed in vacuum at 1000°C and cold rolled to 0.020 in. thickness. About 0.003 in. of surface material was then removed by hand grinding on papers to remove any contamination caused by the rolls and the sample was bent to the radius of the focusing camera. The sample was then vacuum annealed at 600°C, a temperature just high enough to cause recrystallization, producing a fine grained structure. Such a structure is essential in sheet specimens prepared for focusing cameras in order to have a sufficient quantity of grains to develop continuous diffraction lines. The use of sheet specimens rather than powder samples appears to be essential for the X ray examination of titanium. This is because of titanium's exceptionally high gettering power and its rapid absorption of adsorbed gases, water -vapor, and the like at annealing temperatures. While the effect of this contamination may be neglected for sheet specimens, its effect on 200-300 mesh powder is appreciable. Titanium alloys of oxygen and nitrogen were prepared by a technique simi- lar to that described above except that the required amount of the highest purity titanium oxide or nitride available was added prior to melting in the arc furnace. These materials were added by placing them in holes drilled in the titanium. A small weight loss invariably occurs during the melting of these oxygen and nitrogen alloys. This is believed to be due entirely to the loss of some of the powdered compound in the blast of the electric arc, an assumption which is justified on the basis that there is no weight loss during the melting of titanium metal and that wet analyses for nitrogen on representative samples have checked with the calculated analyses when it was assumed that the entire loss during melting was due to the loss of titanium nitride powder. These alloy buttons were reduced to sheet in the same manner as used for the unalloyed titanium. Experimental Procedure A North American Phillips 12 cm diam symmetrical precision focusing vacuum camera and copper radiation

Jan 1, 1950

By A. C. Losekamp, R. M. Fincel, J. B. Conway

HIGH-TEMPERATURE thermal-expansion data for tungsten, rhenium, molybdenum, Mo-50Re, and W-25Re were obtained recently by means of a paired

Jan 1, 1965

By H. B. Hunter, F. G. Stone, F. J. Dunkerley

Introduction and Literature Survey This is the second in a series of papers coming from this laboratory on the correlation of the low temperature tensile properties of tin-binary alloys with microstructure. These engineering data and those of the previous paper1 were obtained as the initial part of a long-range program to determine the changes in the fundamental mechanical properties accompanying the beta to alpha phase change in tin and its binary alloys below 13.2°C. Since it appears now that the more fundamental studies will be delayed,* and since no summary of the low temperature properties of these tin-base white bearing alloys was found in the literature, it was decided to publish all the engineering data thus far obtained. Accordingly, the tensile properties of thirteen binary alloys containing from 0.1 to 60 pet cadmium and 0.1 to 10.43 pet antimony measured at six temperatures from —196 to +23°C are presented here and their variations rationalized in terms of microstructure. A literature search showed that these systems had not been investigated at low temperatures, although both the tin-cadmium and tin-antimony2,3,4,5 and the tin-rich corner of the ternary system67 have been studied at room temperature. Hanson and Pell-Wal-pole5 and Homer and Plummer4 determined the tensile properties of alloys containing from 0 to 10 pet cadmium. The same authors3 determined the tensile strength and elongation in the tin-antimony system from 2 to 18 pet antimony at room temperature while Pell-Walpole et al.6,7 studied the properties of high tin and tin-antimony-cadmium alloys. Since there were many variables besides composition in these tests, it was difficult to make a valid comparison with the room temperature data of the present study, but in general the tensile strength and ductility values are in reasonable agreement. Pell-Walpole2 also determined the effect of grain size on the tensile strength of pure tin and 1 pet alloys of both antimony and cadmium. The true maximum stress was found to decrease exponentially as the number of grains in the cross-section increased. This effect of grain size was strikingly revealed in the present work, as indicated in a later section. Hanson and Pell-Walpole8 placed the solid solubility limit of antimony in tin at 3.5 pet at 20°C, increasing to 4 pet at 190°C, and then sharply increasing to 10.3 pet at 246°C (the latter being a peritectic point). Their results are in disagreement with those of previous investigators,9 and the discrepancy seems to lie in the micro-graphic observation of the second phase

Jan 1, 1950

By D. Mizer, J. B. Clark

In a recent investigation of the entire magnesium-yttrium phase diagram, Gibson and Carlsonl report the maximum solid solubility of yttrium in magnesium as 8.0 wt pct Y at 1050°F (565°C). However, independent studies of the precipitation in magnesium-yttrium alloys, 2 conducted prior to the publication of the above phase diagram, indicated a greater solid solubility of yttrium in magnesium. Accordingly, the magnesium-rich region of the diagram was re-investigated to determine more accurately the liqui-dus, solidus, and solvus of the magnesium solid solution in this system. Metallography and thermal analysis were chosen as the best corroboratory methods for accurately determining this region of the diagram. A magnesium-yttrium master alloy was prepared from yttrium of 99.9 pct purity and singly sublimed magnesium of 99.9 pct purity. Subsequently, the twelve magnesium-yttrium alloys shown in Fig. 1 were prepared using standard alloying procedures for magnesium. Metallographic samples of the alloys were heat treated under an SO, atmosphere in an electric furnace capable of control within ±3oF of the desired temperature. Alloy samples for the metallographic determination of the solvus, and for the precipitation studies were solution treated at 1000° F for 16 hr. Subsequent aging times for the solvus determination varied from a minimum of 6 hr for the higher temperatures up to 816 hr for lower temperatures. Periods of 30 min at temperature were used to generate liquation for the metallographic placement of the solidus and eutectic horizontal. The liquidus and the eutectic horizontal were determined by thermal analysis. Simple time-temper- ature heating and cooling curves were obtained from 10-g alloy samples heated and cooled in a well-insulated electric furnace. An Iron-Constantan thermocouple was placed in direct contact with the sample. The thermocouple did not contaminate the alloy sample since metallographic examination showed that the alloy melt did not wet or attack the thermocouple. The heating and cooling rates were approximately 5 to 8OF per min. The standard metallographic procedures for magnesium were used in polishing and etching the magnesium-yttrium alloys studied. Glycol etchant* was etchant was used to reveal precipitate in the solvus determination. The redetermined magnesium-rich region of the magnesium-yttrium diagram is shown in Fig. 1. The

Jan 1, 1962