Structural investigation of phase transformations in an MnAl alloy

A comprehensive x-ray diffraction study is made of an MnAl alloy, including a phase analysis of the alloy. Changes in the lattice parameters of the phases during phase transformations are examined and an analysis is made of the dispersion of the metastable ferromagnetic -phase. The structural characteristics are studied with different annealing temperatures ranging from 450 to 900°C. The temperature sequence of the phase transformations of the alloy is determined, along with the optimum conditions for the formation of the magnetic phase in the alloy. The structural characteristics of the phases that are obtained provide evidence of a difference in the processes responsible for ordering of the - and -phases. It is shown that it is possible to use the lattice-parameter ratioc/a to study the directionality of phase transformations in the alloy.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 8, pp. 34–38, August, 1989.