Institute of Metals Division - Sc-Ti System and the Allotropy of Sc

The Sc-Ti system was studied by thermal, metal-lographic, and X-ray methods. Scandium was found to transform at 1334 °C from a (hexagonal) to ß which was concluded to be bee since a continuous series of solid solutions is formed between ß scandium and ß titanium at elevated temperatures. There is a minimum in the solidus at 51 wt pet Ti and 1300°C, a monotectoid at 1050°C and 49 wt pet Ti, and a eutectoid at 875°C and 91.5 wt pet Ti. The maximum solubility of titanium in a scandium is 13.5 wt pet at the monotectoid temperature, while the maximum solubility of scandium in a titanium is 6.5 wt pet at 875°C. SCANDIUM, a member of Group 111 A of the periodic table, and now called a rare-earth metal,' has become of interest recently due to its low density (2.99 g per cc) and relatively high melting point (1539°C).Spedding,' et al. have described a method of preparation of pure scandium metal and have made a study of its basic properties. Since scandium is approximately 10 to 12 pet smaller in at. diam than the other rare earths while its electronegativity and valence are the same, a knowledge of its alloying behavior in contrast to these elements should be very helpful to fundamental alloy theory. Since scandium is quite scarce and difficult to prepare in pure form, its use as a structural material by itself seems quite unlikely. However, its use in special cases as an alloying addi- tive to other low-density materials is a possible application; the Sc-Ti system was chosen for this reason and for others of fundamental interest. Scandium was suspected of having a high temperature bee form as do some of the other rare-earth metals.3'4 Since titanium has a high-temperature bee form, a continuous series of solid solutions at elevated temperatures between ß scandium and ß titanium would prove the existence and structure of the high-temperature form of scandium. The existence of a continuous series of hexagonal solid solutions at room temperature was predicted by Burkhanov and Savitskiy,5 but Hias shown to be incorrect in early X-ray studies. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS Materials. The metals employed in this investigation were crystal bar titanium and distilled scandium prepared by the method described by Spedding,2 et al. The major impurities are listed in Table I in PPm. Alloy Preparation. All the alloys examined were initially formed in a nonconsumable electrode are-melting furnace under an atmosphere of purified helium or argon. A curve based on the observed weight loss of 0.6 pet* when titanium was melted