High temperature structural evolution of a CuAlNi alloy studied by in situ X-ray diffraction and isothermal mechanical spectroscopy

The purpose of this work is to study the microstructural mechanisms associated with the eutectoid transition in a ternary Cu-12 wt.% Al-3 wt.% Ni alloy. The samples have been initially annealed at 850degreesC, then slowly cooled down to room temperature. The experiments have been carried out both on cooling and on heating above 500degreesC using isothermal mechanical spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (fitted with a temperature camera). On heating, a relaxation peak with a high intensity rises up above 600degreesC, then on cooling, the peak totally disappears below 580degreesC, the effect being reproducible. The structural analysis, undertaken in the same temperature domain, has clearly evidenced each step of the evolution, particularly the eutectoid transformation. Consequently, the damping effect seems to be associated to the presence of the high temperature p phase. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.