PART VI - Effect of Rhenium on the Interface Energies of Chromium, Molybdenum, and Tungsten

The interface energies of chronzium, molybdenunz. hugsten, and their solid-solution alloys Cv-35Re, MO-33Re, and UJ-25Re were studied at 0.6 to 1.0 of the absolllte liquidus ter)zpe,vature using fiz&apos;e )izethods. Liquid surface tension, yv , was deter mined clsing the pendant-drop and drop-weight methods. Results are, respectizlely, 1700, 2370, and 2480 +100 dynes per ct for the rhernium -containing alloys and essentially the same as tlwse reported for liquid chro)riln, trolybdenum, and tungsten. Average solid slrjace energy, rsv< xias ))zeasured using tlre fiber-extetlsion method. The ratio of ysS, the acerage high-angle grain-boundary energy, to ySV cclas jolnd fronz grain-bolzdary grooue angles fort)zed at the surface in an inert atrfizosphere. Absolllte iute?:face energies were deterawined using ?nultip/rase equilibria involzing suitable liquids of known surface tension (tin, silver). Interpretation of the experimented results in view of pvobable tenzperatzcre, orientation, and purity effects giz,e the follouling approximations in ergs per sq ctn: ysv (i2lo. Mo-33Re) - 2100, ySS (Mo, Mo-33Re) - 800, rr (defornzation twins in MO-33Re at 1200"C) - 800. ysV (Cr. Cr-35Re) - 2400. YSS (CY, Cr-35Re) - 1000. Probably Ylv- YSV- 2500 for tungsten and W-25Re, giving yss (It&apos;, W-25Re) - 900. The interface energies of solid and liqid ch?&apos;omiu?.z, nolybdenu?rr, and tungsten are not geatly aff&apos;ected by rhenium and therefore are not a ttlajor factor in the ductili zing rhenium effect in Croup VI-A metals. THE interface energies of the refractory Group VI-A metals, chromium, molybdenum, and tungsten, are not well-established. The objective of this investigation was to study the liquid surface tension, solid surface energy, and grain-boundary energy of these metals and compare them to those found for the bcc solid-solution alloys, Cr-35e,&apos; 0-33e,&apos; and -25e. Five techniques were used to measure interface energies in high-purity polycrystal rod, wire, and sheet at 0.6 to 1.0 of the absolute liquidus temperature. The alloys were chosen to see if there was any connection between interface-energy behavior and the ductilizing rhenium effecL4j5 EXPERIMENTAL WORK Materials. A description of the materials used is presented in Table I. Chromium rod was prepared by arc melting iodide process crystals supplied by Chromallo Cor., hot extruding, and warm swaging to 0.63-cm-diam rod.6 The sheet was prepared by rolling as-extruded rod to 95 pct reduction in area from a hydrogen furnace at 800" to 900°C and surface grinding off 0.02 cm from each face. Cr-35Re rod was prepared by arc melting sintered rhenium powder and iodide chromium crystals, warm rod rolling to 50 pct reduction in area in cans, and swaging to 60 pct reduction in area at 1100" to 1200°C. Some of the rod was warm-rolled to sheet and then surface-ground. Portions of swaged chromium and Cr-35Re were further reduced by swaging and drawing to 0.013-cm-diam wire by the General Electric Co. Mo-33Re and W-25Re rod, sheet, and wire were provided by Chase Brass and Copper Co. The molybdenum sheet consisted of two lots, both essentially the same except for the carbon content. Liquid Surface Tension. The liquid surface tension of Cr-35Re, Mo-33Re, and W-25Re was measured by a combination of pendant-drop and drop-weight methods using techniques already decribed." Following out-gassing, molten drops were formed on the ends of centerless-ground Mo-33Re and W-25Re rods by electron bombardment at 5 x 106 mm. Similar drops were formed on outgassed Cr-35Re rods by induction heating under 1 atm of 99.995 pct Ar. Solid Surface Energy. Solid surface energy was measured by conducting microcreep experiments on molybdenum, Mo-33Re, chromium, and Cr-35Re wires at 2350°, 2306, 1550°, and 180O°C, respectively. In preparation, gage marks -2.5 cm apart and -0.001 cm deep were circumferentially scribed on the wire with a razor blade. Weights of the wire material were then attached. Five to seven reasonably straight wires were hung in a container made out of the wire material. The free end was placed through a small hole in the removable top and secured by bending a small portion 90 deg. The containers not only tended to provide vapor-solid equilibrium for the wires but also protected them from gaseous impurities. They were nominally 2.5 cm in diam by 5 cm high and were made from extruded chromium rod, Cr-35Re arc casting, molybdenum bar stock, or welded Mo-33Re sheet. After deg re as ing, the assembly was outgassed at a relatively low temperature to 2 x 10"5 mm and then recrystallized 2 to 8 hr at the creep temperature in a rhenium-element resistance furnace. The static argon atmosphere was gettered by tantalum radiation shielding. Specimen temperature was measured optically to 25"C using calibration with known melting points and blackbody conditions. The wires generally developed a stable bamboo-type structure according to Fig, l(b), (c), and (d) and retained their gage marks [upper portion of Fig. l(d)]. One or two of the weights were clipped off to provide a low load for the creep anneal. To minimize the possibility of bending or breakage, the wires remained attached to the top of the annealing container which was held to keep the wires vertical. The distance between gage marks was