The Dependence of the Melting Temperature of Cobalt–Carbon Eutectic on the Morphology of its Microstructure |
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Authors: | D Lowe K Mingard Z Malik P Quested |
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Affiliation: | (1) Industry and Innovation Division, National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK;(2) Imperial College, London, UK |
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Abstract: | Fixed points provide a reliable way to realize and verify temperature scales. High-temperature fixed points are being developed
based upon alloys, since single-phase materials are impractical to use above the copper freezing point. In particular, eutectic
alloys have been shown to be sufficiently reproducible to warrant consideration as a way to significantly improve high-temperature
metrology. However, eutectic alloys have certain characteristics requiring that they are used differently from the current
ITS-90 fixed points. As their freezing temperature depends on the freezing rate, the melting temperature is preferred, though
it has been shown that for some alloys, notably iron–carbon and cobalt–carbon, the apparent melting temperature can depend
on the rate of the preceding freeze. This behavior will need to be explained and quantified if such fixed points are to be
acceptable. The effect of varying the freezing rate on subsequent melting has been investigated for cobalt–carbon eutectic
fixed points. The apparent melting temperature varies by up to 50 mK. Measurements were made of two different fixed-point
blackbodies with very similar results. Optical microscopy of samples produced at different freeze rates shows a change in
scale of the microstructure. Electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) shows evidence of high levels of residual strain in
rapidly frozen samples. The effect of annealing on the melting behavior and microstructure has also been investigated. It
is suggested that disordered phase boundaries and residual strain lead to changes in the melting behavior as nonequilibrium
conditions may lead to a significant level of pre-melting. Whether this actually changes the liquidus temperature, or whether
the melting temperature variation is due to the way the melting point is defined, is also discussed. The variation requires
consideration if the highest accuracy is to be achieved, and will be a contributory factor to any uncertainty budget. |
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Keywords: | Eutectic Melting temperature Microstructure |
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