Nickel-rich portion of the Ni-Al-Nb phase diagram

Abstract

The solubility of Nb + Al in the γ solid solution decreases markedly with decreasing temperature; thus alloys can be prepared that are γ at 1200°C and yet contain 50 pct γ’ precipitate after aging at 800°C. Thermal stability of the γ’ precipitate is related to the lattice mismatch between the γ and γ’ phases; the smaller the mismatch the lower is the interfacial elastic energy and the more stable is the γ’. Upon aging certain alloys at 800°C a γ’ growth interface other than the normal (100)_γll(100)_γ’ is observed. The maximum solubility of the niobium in γ’ is ∼7 at. pct; the width of the γ’ field increases with increasing niobium content but it is essentially independent of temperature. Replacing aluminum by niobium in γ’ gives hardnesses of up to 400 Dpn.