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Title: Thermodynamic approach to the stability of multi-phase systems. Application to the Y2O3–Fe system

Journal Article · · Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter
 [1];  [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Oxide-metal systems (OMSs) are important in many practical applications, and therefore, are under extensive studies using a wide range of techniques. The most accurate theoretical approaches are based on density functional theory (DFT), which are limited to ~102 atoms. Multi-scale approaches, e.g., DFT+Monte Carlo, are often used to model OMSs at the atomic level. These approaches can describe qualitatively the kinetics of some processes but not the overall stability of OMSs. In this paper, we propose a thermodynamic approach to study equilibrium in multiphase systems, which can be sequentially enhanced by considering different defects and microstructures. We estimate the thermodynamic equilibrium by minimization the free energy of the whole multiphase system using a limited set of defects and microstructural objects for which the properties are calculated by DFT. As an example, we consider Y2O3+bcc Fe with vacancies in both the Y2O3 and bcc Fe phases, Y substitutions and O interstitials in Fe, Fe impurities and antisite defects in Y2O3. The output of these calculations is the thermal equilibrium concentration of all the defects for a particular temperature and composition. The results obtained confirmed the high temperature stability of yttria in iron. As a result, model development towards more accurate calculations is discussed.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; AC05-000R22725
OSTI ID:
1214468
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1238875
Journal Information:
Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter, Vol. 27, Issue 30; ISSN 0953-8984
Publisher:
IOP PublishingCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 4 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science