Experimental constraints on the phase diagram of elemental zirconium

Jianzhong Zhang, Yusheng Zhao, Cristian Pantea, Jiang Qian, Luke L. Daemen, Paulo A. Rigg, Robert S. Hixson, Carl W. Greeff, George T. Gray, Yunpeng Yang, Liping Wang, Yanbin Wang, Takeyuki Uchida

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Abstract

The phase diagram of zirconium metal has been studied using synchrotron X-ray diffraction and time-of-flight neutron scattering at temperatures and pressures up to 1273 K and 17 GPa. The equilibrium phase boundary of the α-ω transition has a dT/dP slope of 473 K/GPa, and the extrapolated transition pressure at ambient temperature is located at 3.4 GPa. For the ω-β transition, the phase boundary has a negative dT/dP slope of 15.5 K/GPa between 6.4 and 15.3 GPa, which is substantially smaller than a previously reported value of -39±5 K/GPa in the pressure range of 32-35 GPa. This difference indicates a significant curvature of the phase boundary between 15.3 and 35 GPa. The α-ω-β triple point was estimated to be at 4.9 GPa and 953 K, which is comparable to previous results obtained from a differential thermal analysis. Except for the three known crystalline forms, the β phase of zirconium metal was found to possess an extraordinary glass forming ability at pressures between 6.4 and 8.6 GPa. This transformation leads to a limited stability field for the β phase in the pressure range of 6-16 GPa and to complications of high-temperature portion of phase diagram for zirconium metal.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1213-1219
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids
Volume66
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2005
Externally publishedYes

Funding

This work was performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy (DOE) under contract W-7405-ENG-36 with the University of California. The experimental work was carried out at the beamlines X17B2 of National Synchrotron Light Source of Brookhaven National Laboratory, which is supported by the Consortium for Materials Properties Research in Earth Sciences (COMPRES) under NSF Cooperative Agreement EAR 01-35554, and at the beamline 13-BM of Advance Photon Source of Argonne National Laboratory, which is supported by the National Science Foundation—Earth Sciences (EAR-0217473), Department of Energy—Geosciences (DE-FG02-94ER14466) and the State of Illinois. Use of the APS was supported by the US Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, and Office of Energy Research, under Contract No. W-31-109-Eng-38.

FundersFunder number
National Science Foundation—Earth SciencesEAR-0217473
Office of Energy ResearchW-31-109-Eng-38
National Science FoundationEAR 01-35554
U.S. Department of EnergyW-7405-ENG-36, DE-FG02-94ER14466
University of California
Basic Energy Sciences

    Keywords

    • A. Amorphous materials
    • A. Metals
    • C. High pressure
    • C. X-ray diffraction
    • D. Phase transitions

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