Correlation between bulk modulus of ternary intermetallic compounds and atomic properties of their constituent elements

In our previous work, an empirical relationship among bulk modulus B, molar volume V and electron density eta(ws) of binary intermetallic compounds was observed: B=eta(ws)(2)V. To extend this empirical correlation to ternary compounds, a total of 155 data has been consolidated from literatures in the present study. It is found that the bulk modulus of ternary compounds can also be predicted or estimated by this empirical equation with an average error limit as low as +/-8.5%. The model does not involve any adjustable parameter. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.