Study of microstructure in vanadium-palladium alloys by X-ray diffraction technique

Present study considers microstructural characterization of vanadium-based palladium (V-Pd) alloys, which are widely used in marine environment due to their high corrosion resistance. The X-ray diffraction line profile analysis (XRDLPA) have been used to assess the microstructure in body centred cubic (bcc) V-Pd alloys having four different nominal compositions in wt.%. X-ray diffraction line broadening analysis on V-Pd alloys has been performed by using different methods like the Warren-Averbach, double-Voigt and Rietveld methods. Finally microstructural defect parameters such as domain size (D), r.m.s. microstrain 〈ɛ ²〉^1/2, twin fault (β′), spacing fault (αɛ) and deformation stacking fault (α) were evaluated in these alloys by Fourier line shape analysis using Rietveld method in which the X-ray diffraction profiles of these alloys were described by the pseudo-Voigt function to fit the experimental data. From analysis it has been observed that twin fault, β′, and the spacing fault, αɛ, are totally absent in these bcc alloy systems because the twin fault, β′, has been observed to be either negative or very small (within experimental error limit) for these alloy systems and the spacing fault, αɛ, appears to be negative. This analysis also revealed that the deformation stacking fault, α, is significantly present in this alloy system and increases with Pd content.