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Brillouin scattering and transmission electron microscopy studies of radiation-induced elastic softening, disordering, and amorphization of intermetallic compounds. [Zr/sub 3/Al]

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5370869
The crystalline-to-amorphous (c-a) phase transformation in the intermetallic compound, Zr/sub 3/Al, during room temperature bombardment with 1.0-MeV Kr/sup +/ has been investigated. Transmission electron microscopy and Brillouin scattering techniques were used to determine the lattice parameter and shear elastic constant as a function of the degree of long-range order. Results show that a large (approx.50%) elastic softening and dilatation strain (approx.3%) due to disordering precede the onset of amorphization. These results indicate that chemical disordering is an important driving force for the c-a transformation, and that the mechanism is an elastic shear instability. It is also shown that the volume dependence of the shear elastic constant associated with radiation-induced disordering and eventual amorphization is virtually identical to that associated with the heating to melting of many solids. The origin and implications of this parallelism between solid-state amorphization and melting are discussed. 21 refs., 6 figs.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
5370869
Report Number(s):
CONF-8708104-6; ON: DE88005927
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English