Determination of the Fe−Ni phase diagram below 400°C

Abstract

The phase diagram for the Fe−Ni system below 400°C has been determined experimentally in the composition range from 0 to 52 wt pct Ni using analytical electron microscopy techniques. High spatial resolution X-ray microanalysis and electron diffraction were conducted on the Fe−Ni regions of meteorites. Both stable and metastable phase boundaries were defined. Our phase diagram is consistent with the available theoretical diagram in that firm experimental evidence was found for a miscibility gap and an associated, asymmetrical spinodal decomposition region. The spinodal decomposition resulted in a two-phase, isotropic microstructure, as expected. The miscibility gap is a metastable construction arising from the presence of a tricritical point due to magnetic interactions. Our experimental diagram differs from the theoretical diagram in three ways. First, observations of meteorite structures show that Fe−Ni solid solution containing 4.0 wt pct Ni is in local equilibrium with ordered FeNi containing 51.4 wt pct Ni and not Ni₃Fe as in the theoretical diagram. Second, our miscibility gap below 400°C, located between 11.7 and 51.9 wt pct Ni at 200°C, is wider than the calculated miscribility gap, especially at the high Ni end. Third, we also find evidence for an ordered structure around ∼25 wt pct Ni. This structure may be either Fe₃Ni or a two-phase structure incorporating ordered FeNi.