Analysis of phase formation in Ni-rich alloys of the Ni-Ta-W system by calorimetry, DTA, SEM, and TEM

The partial enthalpies of dissolution of pure Ni, W and Ta in liquid ternary Ni-Ta-W alloys have been determined at (1773 ± 5) K using a high temperature isoperibolic calorimeter. Measurements were performed in Ni-rich alloys (from 80 to 100 at.% Ni) along sections with constant Ta : W atomic ratios 1:0, 2:1, 1:2, and 0:1. The partial enthalpies and thereby the integral enthalpy of mixing of these ternary alloys are calculated from the partial enthalpies of dissolution using SGTE Gibbs energies for pure elements as reference. The obtained thermochemical data confirm that in the in-vestigated Ni-rich alloys the binary interactions between Ta and W as well as the ternary Ni-Ta-W interactions are negligibly small. Due to this the variation of the integral enthalpy of mixing of the ternary alloys is well described as linear combination of the constituent Ni-Ta and Ni-W binaries. Such behaviour of the ternary liquid alloys is related to a very low probability of new ternary stable phases to occur in solid state. This prediction is confirmed by differential thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy of the as-solidified and annealed samples obtained as last alloy compositions in the series of calorimetric dissolution.