Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Thermophysical properties of coexistent phases of plutonium

Journal Article ·
OSTI ID:992219
Plutonium is the element with the greatest number of allotropic phases. Thermally induced transformations between these phases are typically characterized by thermal hysteresis and incomplete phase reversion. With Ga substitutal in the lattice, low symmetry phases are replaced by a higher symmetry phase. However, the low temperature Martensitic phase transformation ({delta} {yields} {alpha}{prime}) in Ga stabilized {delta}-phase Pu is characterized by a region of thermal hysteresis which can reach 200 C in extent. These regions of thermal hysteresis offer a unique opportunity to study thermodynamics in inhomogeneous systems of coexistent phases. The results of thermophysical properties measured for samples of inhomogeneous unalloyed and Ga alloyed Pu will be discussed and compared with similar measurements of their single phase constituents.
Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
992219
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-09-05555; LA-UR-09-5555
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Toward a Deeper Understanding of Plutonium
Journal Article · Thu Jun 21 00:00:00 EDT 2007 · Journal of Computer-Aided Materials Design, vol. 14, no. 3, September 30, 2007, pp. 329-330 · OSTI ID:942027

Delta to alpha prime transformation of plutonium during microhardness testing
Journal Article · Fri Nov 14 23:00:00 EST 2008 · Materials Characterization · OSTI ID:21137487

Soft Phonons in (delta)-Phase Plutonium Near the (delta)-(alpha)' Transition
Journal Article · Thu Sep 13 00:00:00 EDT 2007 · Europhysics Letters (EPL), vol. 82, N/A, April 1, 2008, pp. 26001 · OSTI ID:943845