Invar Effect in the Wide and Higher Temperature Range by Coherent Coupling in Fe-Based Alloy

Invar alloys with zero thermal expansion (ZTE), isotropy, high operation temperature, and wide temperature range are of great significance in fields such as aerospace and modern industry. However, it is difficult to simultaneously meet the above characteristics in one material. The traditional methods like element or vacancies doping would increase the operation temperature but at the expense of ZTE behavior. Here, by the coherent coupling between two cubic phases, the isotropic ZTE metallic material with the higher cut-off temperature (560 K) and a wide operation temperature range (& UDelta;T = 200 K) is obtained in Fe2.75Co0.25PtB0.25. The operation temperature range is much higher than that of commercial Fe0.65Ni0.35 Invar alloy and meets the applications at elevated temperatures. High-angle annular dark field images and synchrotron X-ray diffraction prove that by the coherent interfacial coupling between the A1 and its coherent L12 nanodomains, the original negative thermal expansion or positive thermal expansion performances for them can be changed into the same ZTE performances. This thermal expansion regulation strategy realized by coherent coupling will lead to an innovative and significant revolution for ZTE design and promote its development and application. The coherent coupling between phases is proposed to design zero thermal expansion (ZTE) materials. Through the stress originating from the difference in lattice parameters around coherent interfaces, the thermal expansion performances for constituent phases are influenced by each other. By this strategy, ZTE with a higher and wider temperature range is realized in Fe-based alloys, which is essential for application.image

Automated summary

Invar alloys with zero thermal expansion, isotropy, high operation temperature, and wide temperature range are significant in applications like aerospace and modern industry. However, achieving all these characteristics in one material is challenging. In this study, the researchers obtained an isotropic zero thermal expansion metallic material with a higher cut-off temperature and wide operation temperature range through coherent coupling between two cubic phases. This material has higher performance and wider temperature range compared to commercial Invar alloy, and the thermal expansion regulation strategy realized by coherent coupling can lead to innovative revolution and promote the development and application of zero thermal expansion materials.