Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1993

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Metallurgical Engineering

Major Professor

Charles J. McHargue

Committee Members

C. J. Sparks, Joachim Schneibel, R. A. Buchanan

Abstract

The equiatomic and iron-rich ordered iron aluminides are potential medium temperature materials because of their low cost and good elevated temperature properties. However, their chief drawback is their brittleness at room temperature. Attempts have and are being made to increase their ductility by alloying. It has also been established that the site preference of the ternary element could affect the mechanical properties of these aluminides. A study was made of the site substitution of Cr in the B2 FeAl using the variable x-ray energy of a synchrotron source. Seven compositions were chosen of which three were binary FeAl alloys. It was found that Cr had a clear preference for the Al site for all the compositions. The amount of Al on the Fe site varied considerably with specimen composition for the ternary alloys but was relatively independent of composition for the binary alloys. These data represent one of the first systematic studies of the site preference of a ternary addition to a binary compound. Improvements in the sample preparation and data analysis provided significant reductions in uncertainties. These meaningful values of site preference were not strongly correlated with hardness but reflected the chemistry of the binary phases. The hardness values, after cooling from a low - temperature anneal were insensitive to composition except for the Fe51Al49 alloy which showed a much higher hardness.

Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Share

COinS