Evidence for nascent equilibrium nuclei as progenitors of anomalous transformation kinetics in a Pu-Ga alloy [electronic resource].
- Published
- Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 2009.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy. - Physical Description
- PDF-file: 10 pages; size: 1.3 Mbytes
- Additional Creators
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, United States. Department of Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Access Online
- Restrictions on Access
- Free-to-read Unrestricted online access
- Summary
- By alloying Pu with Ga, the face-centered-cubic δ phase can be retained down to room temperature in a metastable configuration, which ultimately yields to chemical driving forces by undergoing the δ → α' isothermal martensitic transformation below M{sub s} ≈ = -100 C. This transformation is found to exhibit anomalous transformation kinetics, the nature of which has remained elusive for over 30 years. Recently, a 'conditioning' treatment - an isothermal hold above M{sub s} - has been shown to dramatically affect the amount of α' phase formed during the transformation. Herein, we report evidence that the conditioning treatment induces the lower-C of the double-C curve, and we furthermore implicate the classical nucleation of equilibrium phases within the conditioning range as the underlying mechanism behind conditioning in Pu-Ga alloys. This mechanism should not be rigorously exclusive to plutonium alloys as it arises from the proximity between the retained metastable phase and the low-energy equilibrium phases.
- Report Numbers
- E 1.99:llnl-jrnl-413833
llnl-jrnl-413833 - Subject(s)
- Other Subject(s)
- Note
- Published through SciTech Connect.
05/27/2009.
"llnl-jrnl-413833"
Physical Review B, vol. 80, no. 9, September 17, 2009, pp. 094107 80 9 ISSN 1098-0121 FT
Schwartz, A J; Wall, M A; Jeffries, J R; Blobaum, K M. - Funding Information
- W-7405-ENG-48
View MARC record | catkey: 14444974