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Precipitates Morphology in Iron-Diluted U–Fe Alloys

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Abstract

The morphology of U6Fe precipitates were investigated in the different allotropic states of uranium matrix. The morphology of γ-U is equiaxed and the characteristic size is ~65 μm. The excess dissolved iron in β-U precipitates discontinuously through a eutectoid reaction during cooling at the grain boundaries, while α-phase precipitates have a “needle-like” morphology (in many cases, aspect ratio ≫10) with a well-defined direction in the uranium matrix. This morphology may compensate for the large density differences of ~9 % between α-U and U6Fe (~19 and ~17.4 g/cm3, respectively) and the fact that precipitation takes place at relatively low temperatures. It was shown that U6Fe precipitates do not introduce new nucleation sites in β and α phases of uranium.

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  1. NRC-Negev, P.O.Box 9001, 84190, Beer-Sheva, Israel

    M. Aizenshtein & D. Hamawi

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  1. M. Aizenshtein
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  2. D. Hamawi
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Correspondence to M. Aizenshtein.

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Aizenshtein, M., Hamawi, D. Precipitates Morphology in Iron-Diluted U–Fe Alloys. Metallogr. Microstruct. Anal. 3, 363–367 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13632-014-0160-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13632-014-0160-6

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