Structure of Amorphous Phase and Nanocrystalline Phases in the Devitrification of Iron Alloys

Abstract

The Fe–B–Si–P–C alloys with crystalline phases of different type that are deposited in the initial stages of devitrification are studied by means of X-ray structural analysis. The alloy structure is modeled by an ensemble of small incoherent particles consisting of tetrahedral close-packed (tcp) crystalline phases. The calculation results and experimental data are in good agreement for all types of tcp phases with small particle size. However, X-ray analysis cannot distinguish between the amorphous state and heterogeneous structure with deposits of one of the tcp phases in the early stages of solidification. Such nonuniform structure may change the properties of the alloy, although the diffuse-scattering pattern remains unchanged.