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Crystallography of the. delta. yields. alpha. phase transformation in a Pu-Ga alloy

Journal Article · · Acta Metallurgica et Materialia; (United States)
; ;  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
  2. Raychem Corp., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
  3. Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)

The crystallography of the {delta} {yields} {alpha} phase transformation in a Pu nominally 1.0 wt% Ga alloy was examined through the application of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), giving new insight into the martensitic nature of the transformation. This transformation is of particular interest because of its unusually large volume change of {approximately} 20%. A survey of twinning in {alpha}-Pu has shown that the compound twinning system requires the lowest shear and no lattice shuffling in a pseudo-structure closely related to {alpha}-Pu. Upon application of these experimentally determined parameters to established martensite crystallographic theory, it has been shown that a reasonable solution is obtained. Results strongly suggest transformation occurs via a martensitic mechanism despite the large volume change.

DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
OSTI ID:
7069504
Journal Information:
Acta Metallurgica et Materialia; (United States), Journal Name: Acta Metallurgica et Materialia; (United States) Vol. 38:11; ISSN 0956-7151; ISSN AMATE
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English