It was first shown in 1960 that rapid quenching of certain alloys from the melt could form completely extended solid solutions, new metastable crystalline phases, and amorphous solid phases. These effects were attributable to the high cooling rates (>or approximately=105 K s-1) from the melt achieved by new techniques of rapidly spreading a few milligrams of liquid alloy into a thin layer in close contact with a good heat conductor (splat cooling). A comprehensive review of developments to data which have resulted from the application of this technique in laboratories throughout the world is presented. It includes an analysis of the range of methods now available for quenching the melt and of present understanding of how they form and quench specimens. The structural features observed as-quenched are then discussed under the divisions of microstructure and extended solid solubility, and of formation of both metastable crystalline and amorphous solid phases. A survey of the response of the as-quenched microstructure to annealing then precedes treatment of the properties and applications of splat-cooled alloys. It is concluded that splat cooling is being established in ever widening fields of study as a tool for controlling structure and properties, and that further applications can be anticipated.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0034-4885/36/11/002/pdf

Splat cooling and metastable phases

A comprehensive classified list of annotated references on rapid cooling from the liquid to the solid state is presented, covering the period 1958 to 1971 and embracing the range of cooling rates greater than ∼105 K sec−1. An index of authors and of alloys studied is appended, supplemented with a list of references for 1972, as known at time of going to press.

Rapid quenching from the melt: An annotated bibliography 1958–72

Energy dispersive x-ray diffraction spectra are obtained from numerous volume elements within an object. A feature set such as a set of cepstrum coefficients is extracted from each spectrum and classified by a trained classifier such as a neural network to provide an indication of whether or not contraband such as explosives is present in the volume element. Indications for adjacent volume elements are evaluated in conjunction with one another, as by an erosion process, to suppress isolated indications and thereby suppress false alarms.

Analysis methods for energy dispersive X-ray diffraction patterns

Rapidly Quenched Metals: A Bibliography, 1973–1979

Studies at extreme pressures and temperatures are helpful for understanding the physical properties of the solid state, including such classes of materials as semiconductors, superconductors or minerals. This is connected with the opportunity of tuning the pressure by many orders of magnitude. Diamond-anvil and large-anvil pressure cells installed at dedicated synchrotron beamlines are efficient tools for examination of crystal structure, equation of state, compressibility and phase transitions. One of basic methods in such studies is powder diffraction. This review is devoted to methods of powder X-ray diffraction at high-pressures generated by devices installed at synchrotron radiation sources, in particular to the principles of operation of high-pressure–high-temperature cells. General information on high-pressure diffraction facilities installed at 11 synchrotron storage rings in the world is provided. Measurement aspects are considered, including (i) pressure generation and calibration, (ii) strain in the sample, the pressure marker and the pressure-transmitting medium and (iii) pressure and temperature distributions within the cells. Sources of interest in high-pressure diffraction studies (design of new materials, observation of new phenomena, confrontation of theory with experiment) are briefly discussed. Recent developments of high-pressure methods make that pressure becomes a variable playing a key role in investigation of condensed matter. The paper ends with some remarks on the possible future developments of the technique.

High-pressure powder X-ray diffraction at the turn of the century

The present summary is a brief survey of the energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD) method and an appraisal of the current position. A comprehensive chronological list of annotated references on EDXRD is given, covering the period 1968 to 1978. An index of authors is appended.

The energy dispersive X-ray diffraction method: annotated bibliography 1968–78

Structure and microstructure study on splat-cooled cadmium

A metastable shift of the solubility limit was produced by splat-quenching in Sn-Bi alloys containing 15, 20 and 25 at. % bismuth. Decomposition of the supersaturated a phase was investigated in the temperature range −40 to O° C. An activation energy of 39.8±3.0 kJ mol−1 was obtained for the decomposition of Sn-25 at. % Bi. Splat-quenched Cu-Sb alloys with different compositions were also studied. The decomposition of the retainedβ high-temperature phase was followed at 200 and 330° C. Neither an increase of solubility of copper into antimony nor new phases at the eutectic composition were observed in quenched foils.

I. Lähteenmäki

Papers

The energy dispersive X-ray diffraction method: annotated bibliography 1968–78

Structure and microstructure study on splat-cooled cadmium

An X-ray study of splat-quenched Sn-Bi and Cu-Sb alloys by energy-dispersive diffraction