Abstract
Abstract The reactions of Nb-Al powder mixtures during sintering were investigated. To enable a complete solution of aluminium in niobium to be made, additions of 1, 2 and 5 at.% Al were chosen. Sintering was carried out in the temperature range above the melting point of aluminium (660 °C) and below the melting point of the Al3Nb phase (1680 °C). Changes in the chemical composition of the samples as well as the formation of Al2O3 were determined by chemical analyses. Specific surface area measurements and fracture surface investigations completed the microstructural observations. Nb-Al interfaces are statistically distributed throughout the volume. Large areas of niobium are not in contact with the aluminium. Therefore the sintering behaviour of the aluminium-free parts of the niobium samples is not influenced by the additions. The influence of the oxygen content on the formation of the Al-Nb phases is described. The aluminium melt was rapidly transformed into Al3Nb owing to the high ratio of the niobium surface area to the aluminium melt volume. The two intermetallic compounds Al3Nb and AlNb2 as well as Al2O3 were identified.
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