Flash Lamp Processing-Activated Structural Transformations in Foil of a Pd–Cu Solid Solution

The β $$ \rightleftarrows $$ α phase transformations in foil of the Pd–52 at % Cu solid solution prepared by rolling have been studied using X-ray diffractometry and resistivity measurements during thermal heating–cooling cycles or lamp processing (LP) using light from high-power pulsed xenon lamps, followed by cooling. The results demonstrate that complete ordering of the two-phase (α + β) as-prepared (as-rolled) foil follows the sequence (α + β) → β → α → β in the first heating–cooling cycle and β → α → β in the second and subsequent cycles. When a radiative energy critical for a given thickness of foil with an ordered structure is delivered to the foil surface, an irreversible β → α phase transformation occurs, whose rate can be three orders of magnitude higher than the rate characteristic of the disordering process during Joule heating. After LP, the reversibility of the β $$ \rightleftarrows $$ α phase transformations, inherent in the initial, ordered structure, is observed in a second thermal cycle: heating to 700°C and cooling. The sequence of phase transitions is α → β → α → β in the first cycle and β → α → β in the second and subsequent cycles. The localization of light in the skin layer and finite thermal conductivity offer the possibility of producing a structure with a phase composition gradient at subcritical irradiation times. The fact that the LP-stabilized α-phase persists up to 300°C makes it possible to compare the mechanical properties of foil samples having identical elemental compositions but different (ordered and disordered) structures.