Part I – January 1969 - Communications - Massive and Martensitic Decomposition of the AgAl Beta Phase

THE decomposition on cooling of the high-temperature ß bcc phases in copper- or silver-based binary systems usually takes place by a martensitic. massive, bainitic, or pearlitic reaction depending upon the particular conditions of each system. The AgAl system is one of these systems in which a massive or a martensitic transformation can occur upon cooling from the 3 phase field. Recently Hawbolt and Brown1 observed both massive and martensitic transformation products in a 22.7 at. pct A1 alloy. In the present work the massive and the martensitic transformations were investigated in a number of alloys for the composition range between 23.2 and 27.9 at. pct Al. The alloys were prepared using high-purity silver, 99.999 pct, supplied by ASARCO and aluminum, 99.999 pct, supplied by ALCOA. The metals were melted using a graphite or a sintered alumina crucible which was sealed in quartz tubes under an argon atmosphere. The alloys Were remelted to reduce segregation and homogenized in the 13 phase field for 24 hr. The weight of the alloys after homo-genization compared with the initial weight indicating the alloy composition to be within k0.1 pct of the in- tended composition. Chemical analysis of several samples confirmed the estimated alloy composition. All metallographic observations were performed on samples electropolished with ac current using a 10 pct solution of KCN and a stainless-steel electrode. The samples were cut into -1-mm-thick slices, polished, heat-treated in the ß phase field, and quenched in air, ice water, or iced brine. Some heat treatments consisted of a 2-min anneal carried out in air to allow maximum quenching speeds. Other samples were heat-treated in a vacuum of 10"4 torr and quenched using a helium blast in a quenching apparatus described elsewhere.&apos; In both cases, no appreciable losses of silver or aluminum were noted at the sample surface by sectioning and electropolishing. Table I summarizes the microstructure resulting from the various quenching treatments. The composition of the alloys investigated is also indicated on the equilibrium diagram in Fig. 1. The <, hcp phase, typical of a massive ß — cm, transformation, was observed in all alloys. A minimum temperature of 450°C was estimated for this transformation based on preliminary cooling experiments. the results being included in Fig. 1. In these