Experimental study of phase equilibria in the Nb-Ti-Al system

To improve the performance of aircraft engines and of some nuclear devices, it is necessary to increase service temperature of hot components working in high temperature environments, from 1,100 to 1,900 K. In this context, niobium alloys of the Nb-Ti-Al system are studied. The existence of an ordered cubic centered B2 phase (designed L2{sub 0} in ternary alloys) around the composition Ti50-Nb25-Al25 (at.%) has been reported in the literature. In order to discuss the theoretical results, an experimental study by neutron diffraction has been undertaken.