Mechanism Of Precipitation In A Permanent Magnet Alloy

INTRODUCTION CERTAIN of the permanent magnet alloys provide ideal systems for the study of the kinetics of the precipitation reaction and the correlation of structure with properties. One such system, Cu-Ni-Fe, was found by Bradley1,2 to exhibit a coherent transition state in the precipitation process analogous to that reported for Al-Cu alloys somewhat earlier.3 The attractiveness of some permanent magnet alloys for study lies in the fact that vertical sections of the ternary phase diagram in certain regions of composition (Fig I) have as their prototype the binary Ni-Au diagram. Alloys of this type decompose into products that have the same crystal lattice type but only slightly different lattice parameters. The advantages that such alloy systems offer for study over the usual in which an intermetallic compound is formed are many: I. Since the precipitate has the same crystal structure as the matrix, complex atomic movements are not required to form the new lattice. 2. Similarly, complex orientation relationships are not involved for both the matrix and the precipitate would be expected to have the same orientation. 3. Small disregistry of the decomposition products at equilibrium (in contrast with Cu-Ag alloys) is conducive to extensive coherent growth in the transient state and thus the transition lattice can be detected by the usual X ray diffraction methods. 4. Finally, the relative quantities of precipitate and depleted matrix can be varied from o to 100 pct* thus permitting wide freedom for the study of the effect of composition on coherent growth and properties. In the Cu-Ni-Fe alloys of appropriate composition, the face-centered cubic precipitate and also the depleted matrix when first formed are coherent with the parent matrix.1,2 The two have the same [ao] parameter as the original matrix but they are both tetragonal; the precipitate has an axial ratio c/a < I while that of the depleted matrix is c/a > I. When coherency is lost they assume the normal face-centered cubic structure with the depleted matrix having a lattice parameter greater than the original matrix and that of the precipitate less. Such a mechanism would also be expected for Cu-Ni-Co alloys because of the similarity in constitution but this had not been demonstrated. The present investigation was conducted on a Cu-Ni-Co alloy. The constitution diagram and magnetic properties of these alloys have been fairly well established 4,5 however, no previous determinations of mechanism of precipitation and no correlation of structure with properties had been made. Thus, an alloy of this system was chosen for a comprehensive investiga-