The liquidus surface of the Cr–Al–Nb system and re-investigation of the Cr–Nb and Al–Cr phase diagrams

Abstract The liquidus surface and corresponding reaction scheme of the ternary Cr–Al–Nb system were determined experimentally. The solidification paths of a series of more than 40 ternary alloys were deduced from investigation of their as-cast microstructures and measurement of all reaction temperatures applying scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The hexagonal C14-type Laves phase Nb(Cr,Al) 2 , which is not stable in any of the binary boundary systems and which is the only ternary compound, forms the most extended primary crystallization field of the ternary system dominating the centre of the liquidus surface. A ternary eutectic was found near the Al–Nb boundary composed of the three intermetallic phases C14 + Nb 2 Al + NbAl 3 . Besides the ternary liquidus surface, the solidus and liquidus curves of the Cr–Nb boundary system and of the Cr-rich part of the Al–Cr system were determined resulting in revised binary phase diagrams.