Kinetics peculiarities of Zr–1% Nb alloy nitriding

Keywords

Zr–1% Nb alloy, nitriding, surface layer, microstructure, mass change kinetics, microhardness, crystal lattice parameters.

Cite as

Trush V. S., Pohrelyuk I. M., Kravchyshyn T. M., Luk’yanenko A. G., Stoev P. I., Fedirko V. M., and Kovalchuk I. V. Kinetics peculiarities of Zr–1% Nb alloy nitriding. Physico­chemical Mechanics of Materials. 2022. 58(2), 117-123.

Abstract

The kinetic characteristics of thin-sheet (~ 1 mm) samples from the Zr–1% Nb alloy after treatment in a nitrogen medium (Р_N2 = 10⁵ Pa) in a wide temperature (Т = 550; 650; 750; 850 and 950°С) and time (τ= 1; 5 and 10 h) ranges are investigated. It is determined that the nitriding of the alloy under study occurs according to a rule close to parabolic (n ≈ 2). It has been established that the activation energy of nitriding of the alloy in the temperature range of 550–950°C is 131.8 kJ/mol. The microstructure of the near-surface layer of the alloy after nitriding is given. The distribution of near-surface microhardness on the Zr–1% Nb alloy is proposed. The diagram of the phases reflexes intensity of α-Zr and ZrN on the surface of the alloy after treatment in a nitrogen gaseous medium is presented.

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