Authors Copy

Section I: Basic and Applied Research

A Revision of the Fe-Ni Phase Diagram

at Low Temperatures (<400 C)
C.-W. Yang* and D.B. Williams
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Whitaker Lab,
Lehigh University,
5 E. Packer Ave.,
Bethlehem, PA 18015
and
J.I. Goldstein
College of Engineering,
University of Massachusetts,
Amherst, MA 01003

(Submitted April 1, 1996; in revised form August 5, 1996)

The low-temperature Fe-Ni phase diagram was assessed experimentally by investigating Fe-Ni re
gions of meteorites using high resolution analytical electron microscopy techniques. The present
phase diagram differs from the available experimental phase diagram based on observations of me
teorite structure, but it is consistent with the available theoretical diagram in that afNi3Fe equilib
rium was found at low temperatures. The a phase containing 3.6 wt.% Ni is in local equilibrium with
they (N13Fe) phase containing 65.5 wt.% Ni, while the y (FeNi) phase is present as a metastable
phase. The new phase diagram incorporates a monotectoid reaction (y a + 72, where Yi is a
paramagnetic fcc austenite, a is a bcc ferrite, and y, is a ferromagnetic fcc austenite) at about 400 C,
a eutectoid reaction (Yz
a + y) at about 345 C, and a miscibility gap associated with a spinodal
region at low temperatures. The miscibility gap is located between 9.0 and 51.5 wt. % Ni at 200 C.
The new low-temperature Fe-Ni phase diagram is consistent with all the phases observed in the me
tallic regions of meteorites.

1.

and Fe3Ni phases were also incorporated in this phase diagram

below the eutectoid temperature in the two-phase (a +

Introduction

Systematic efforts to construct a phase diagram for the Fe-Ni

system have been made by a number of different research
groups [9lSwaJ, and there are many versions of the Fe-Ni
phase diagram based on experimental or theoretical work. At
the Fe-rich side of the phase diagram, the ala + y and the a +
7/7 phase boundaries were established experimentally by
Romig and Goldstein [8ORomJ from 900 to 300 C using scan
ning transmission electron microscopy. On the Ni-rich side of
the phase diagram, the Ni3Fe ordered fcc phase, which has an
LU, superstructure, was first detected hy Leech and Sykes
[39Leej using x-ray diffraction XRD). A eutectoid reaction
was incorporated in the diagram by Heumann and Karsten
[63Heu], suggesting that a and Ni3Fe were in equilibrium at
low temperatures. They determined the a + Ni,Fe/Ni3Fe
boundary and the eutectoid point at 345 C and 52 at.% Ni
based on x-ray and electron microscope observations of an
nealed thin films. The critical ordering temperature of Ni-Fe
(516 C at 73 at.% Ni) was determined hv Deen and \Voude
[XODce, 81 DeeJ using Mdssbauer spectroscopy.
Combining the above data, Kuhaschewski [82Kuh] con
structed a complete Fe-Ni phase diagram Fig. 1). The FeNi
C.-W. Yang is currentt a postdoctoral research associate at Dept. of
Mechanical Eng., Engineerino Lah. University of Massachusettc.
Amherst, MA 0t003.

522

Fe3Ni

1400

FeNi3

FeNi

r-

0
Ui

1000

D
F
U

800\

rTc

Ui

/7

200

80

100

Ni CONTENT (wt. %)

fig. 1 Complete Fe-si

Kuhaschewski [82KubJ.

Journal of Phase Equilibria Vol. 17 No.6 1996

phase

diagram

assessed

bs

Authors Copy
Basic and Applied Research: Section I
field. These two phases were drawn as dashed lines
and ac
companied by a question mark indicating that no experim
ental
evidence for their stability was available. Little experim
ental
data exist for the Fe-Ni system at low temperatures becaus
e of
[he slow diffusion otNi in Fe-Ni. Therefore, the low-tempera
ture part of the Fe-Ni phase diagram was based on speculation.
In an effort to determine the low-temperature part of the Fe-Ni
phase diagram, two different approaches have been
made
since the Kubaschewski phase diagram was published.
First,
there were attempts to calculate the Fe-Ni phase diagram
ther
modynamically. Recently, major progress was made
by
Chuang et al. [86Chu 1, 86Chu21. They showed the interpl
ay of
the chemical and magnetic contributions to the stabilit
y of
phase equilibria of Fe-Ni alloys. They calculated the
Fe-Ni
phase diagram by taking into account the magnetic effect
on
the Gibbs free energy. The magnetic contribution is
large
enough to change the free energy curve in a system that shows
rapidly changing Curie temperature versus compo
sition.
Based on thermodynamic calculations, Chuang et al.
intro
duced a tricritical point at 462 C and 48.8 wt.% Ni as shown
in
Fig. 2. In addition, a miscibility gap of the fcc phase, as well
as
an associated spinodal. and the formation of a monot
ectoid
equilibrium at 389 C were predicted for the Fe-Ni alloy
ss
tern at low temperatures. The a and y phases are in equilib
rium at low temperatures. Since Chuang et al. used
the
Kubaschewski phase diagram to establish the thermodynam
ic
functions that they needed for the calculation, their phase
dia
gram is basically the same as that of Kubaschewski except
for
the tricritical point, the miscibility gap. the a + two-ph
y
ase
field, and the monotectoid reaction.
Second, there were attempts to determine the Fe-Ni phase
dia
gram experimentally by studying meteoritic metal and
elec

tron irradiated alloys. Most recently, Reuter et al. X9Reu

l]
proposed the Fe-Ni phase diagram as shown in Fig. 3. The Ferich portion of the diagram was determined by investigating
the microstmcture and chemical composition of the metallic
phases in iron meteorites. Meteoritic metal is basically an FeNi alloy containing from 5 to 60 wt.% Ni with small amoun
ts
(<I wt%) of Co, P, S, and C. Because tneteorites have cooled
slowly over millions of years (Ito 1000 million years) in their
asteroidal bodies, meteoritic metal contains a characteristic
structure that cannot be completely duplicated in the labora
tory due to the slow diffusion process at low temperatures.
This characteristic structure is formed by a series of phase
transformations that occur at low temperatures. Therefore,
me
teorites are useful as indicators ot the low-temperature
phase
transformations that occur in Fe-Ni alloys. The microstructur
e
and chemical composition of the metallic phases in meteorites
can be used to construct the stable and metastable
phase
boundaries below 400 CC in the Fe-Ni phase diagram.
The
major difference from previous phase diagrams (Fig.
I and 2)
is the presence of the y (FeNi) phase field. The FeNi phase
is
present in this version of the diagram as a stable phase
and
joins the phase congruently at 462 CC and 47 at%
Ni. The
critical ordering temperature of the ordered FeNi phase is
32t)
CC The feNi phase
field was extended to the disordered y
phase field because no afNi3Fe equilibrium was observ
ed in
iron meteorites at that time. The boundaries of the miscib
ility
gap and the spinodal decomposition area were determ
ined
from the phase compositions of the metallic phases in iron
me
teorites and from high voltage electron microscope in situ
irra
diation experiments. These phase boundaries are wider
than
those predicted by Chuang et al. [66Chu2].

900

800

700
0

U
D
H

H
.4

F eN i

.4 500
uJ

U
0

:4

:4

U
H

U
H

400

400

300

200
225

L
0

40

60

60

100

100
0

10

Ni CONTENT (WI. %)

Fig. 2 Calculated Fe-Ni phase diagram proposed by Chuan

g ci
al. [86Chu2]. A miscibility gap induced by magnetic transition
is
proposed.

20

30

40

Ni CONTENT

(Wi.

50

60

70

%)

fig. 3 Fe-Ni phase diagram proposed by Retiter ci at. %9Reu

l
based on the investigation of iron mneteonte structure and electro
n
irradiated alloys and the calculaied diagram by Chtiang
et at.
(SChu2].

Journal of Phase Equilibria Vol. 17 No.6 1996

523

Authors Copy
Section I: Basic and Applied Research
Note that the metallic phases of meteorites produced by lowtemperature phase transformations arc submicron in size due
to the very low diffusivity of the system. Also, compositional
gradients neat the interphase interfaces arc very steep. There
fore, the x-ray microanalysis measurements using electron mi
croscopy are strongly influenced by the resolution of the
analytical electron microscope (AEM). The main objective of
this study is to assess the Fe-Ni phase diagram using the most
advanced AEM data obtained from meteoritic metal. We in
vestigated the structure and chemistry of the metallic phases in
meteorites using high resolution scanning electron micros
copy (SEM) and AEM. Electron diffraction was used to iden
tify the crystal structure, and high spatial resolution x-ray
microanalysis using energy dispersive spectrometry tEDS)
was used to determine the chemistry of the various phases.

2.

Experimental Procedures

2.1

Meteorite Specimen Preparation

Mesosiderites (Patwar. Barea. Chi nguetti, Pi nnaroo, Es

therville, and RKPA 79015), which arc stony-iron meteorites,
were investigated. Since the cooling rates of mesosiderites are
extremely slow (<1 C per million years) [69Pow, 94Yanl and
their cooling times exceed 500 mill ion years, they have coarser
and more well-developed microstructures than other meteor
ites. Such microstructures are mote easily studied by electron
microscopy. Thin foils for AEM study were made from the Es
therville and the RKPA 79015 mesosiderites.
After optical examination, appropriate sections were sliced to
about 200 pm in thickness with a slow speed diamond saw.
The 3 mm disks were cut from the waters using an electrodis
charge machine. The disks were ground to 50 to 100 pm and
photographed after brief etching. Since the meteorites do not
have a uniform microstructure. it was essential to compare the
disks before and after thinning to confirm that the perforation
was in the desired place.
The final thinning was accomplished by either ion beam thin
ning or electrochemical thinning. Ion thinning was performed
using a Gatan model 600 DuoMill (Gatan, Inc., Pleasanton,
CA) using argon ions at 5 kV gun voltage, 15 incident angle,
and 0.5 mA gun current for each gun. After initial perforation
occurred, the gun voltage was dropped to 4 kV, and the inci
dent angle was changed to 110 to reduce possible ion beam
damage. Electrochcmical thinning was performed using a Fis
chione twin jet electropolishing unit tFischione Company,
Pittsburgh, PA) operating at IOU V and 20 C with 2% per
chloric acid (HCIO4) in ethanol. Specimens in which the initial
perforation was not in the desired place \.ere further ion milled
until the area of interest was thin.

2.2
CZ

OTR

____

gO
oo
OGC

y+CZ1

Yn

(I?

Fig. 4 SEM image of Chinguetti mesosiderite showing the vari

ous regions in the meteoritic metal. The outer taenite rim (OTR),
which is the outemlost region of the zoned y, comprises three
subzones (1.2,3). The cloudy zone is composed of the island re
gion (I) and the honeycomb region (H).

524

Structural and Chemical Analysis

After etching with 2% Nital. the microstructure of the me

teoritic metal was examined hy light optical microscope
(LOM) and/or SEM. A JEOL 6300F field emission gun (FEG)
SEM (JEOL Ltd., Medford, MA) was employed. The FEG
permits high resolution images at significantly lover acceler
ating voltages, as low as a fes hundred eV [S7NagJ. Most of
the SEM observations were accomplished at I to 5 keV in or
der to observe fine surface details. The fine structure and high
spatial resolution chemistry of the metallic phases were char
acterized using a Philips EM400T AEM (Philips Electronic
Instruments Corp.. Mahwah. NJ) and a Vacuum Generators
(VG) FEG-HB5O I .AEM ) VG Microscopes. Danvers. MA).
The EM400T has a practical x-ray spatial resolution of 3Oto 50
nm [94Zha] and is equipped with an EDAX Li-drifted Si EDS
detector (Philips Electronic Instruments Corp.). The VG
HB5OI is equipped with a Gatan 666 parallel collection elec
tron energy loss spectrometer and a KEVEX Li-drifted Si EDS
detector (Kevex Corporation. Foster Cite. CA), and it has an x
ray spatial resolution of 2 nm 91Zhaj.
The x-ray quantification wu performed using the Cliff
Lorimer ratio method 75Cli

Journal of Phase Equilibria Vol. 17 No.6 1996

Authors Copy

CNL

NI

(1)

kNFe

c Fe

Fe

where CN and CFe are the concentration of the elements in

wt.%, N and Fe are the characteristic x-ray peak intensities af
ter background subtraction, and kNIFC is the Clift-Lorimer k
factor. The k-factor for Ni with respect to Fe. kNiFes .as
determined for each instrument using standard thin foils of
known composition (determined by electron probe mi
croanalysis [EPMA]). The experimental kNlIC values are I .22
0.01 fortheEM400TAEMat l2OkVand 1.12 0.01 forthe
VG HB5OI AEM at 100 kV with the relative errors of 0.8%

Table 1

and 1.1% at the 95% confidence level, respectively. The ac

curacy of the quantitative data is limited by the counting statis
tics of the x-ray collection, both in terms of experimental
determination of the k-factor and the acquisition of the raw in
tensity data for each element. Since the area to be analyzed in
the foil was extremely thin (10 to 20 nm) and the probe size
was very small (2 nm), the interaction volume from which x
rays were generated was very small. The counting rate was as
low as 50 counts/s. Most of the spectra were acquired for 300 s
to increase the number of accumulated counts, which lowers
the relative error. In order to ensure the accuracy of EDS x-ray
analysis, through-thickness precipitates and interfaces perpen
dicular to the specimen surface were selected for analysis. The

Measured Ni Content and Crystal Structure of the Various Regions in the Meteoritic Metal

Symbol
a
3
3
3
3

Basic and Applied Research: Section I

+ C
+ (52

Location

Ni content, wt. %

AtciPyinterface(KJOTR[zone I])
At Ia interface (OTR [zone 1 1K)
ln3+ a,(Matnx [zones2and 3])
tn7 + a, (Matrix ofislandtegion)
At y a., interface (OTR [zone 7]ICZ)
At
+ a, interface (CZJOTR [zone 3])
tn7 ii,PPT1nOTR)
In y a, (a precipitate in island region)
In y + a,) Honeycomb region)

3.602
65.5 3 3
512 11
51.8 I 7
46.8 0.3(a)
41.6 0.2(a)
14.2 It)
14.7 1 0

a2
(52
(52

9.0 I .t)

(a) The Ni content was measured by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) Other rtteasurenIcnts were obtained with tile
VG-HB5O I AEM,

80

70
60

!fi

p501
H 40

Ui

o
z

30
20

Zoned)

(Kamacite)

(Outer Taenite Rim)

z
10
0
-100

00

200

300

400

500

600

700

DISTANCE (nm)

Fig. S Ni concentration protile across the aliimed y (kama

cite/OTR) interface in the RKPA 79015 mesosidente obtained
with VG HB5OI AEM.

Fig. 6 TEM bright field image of the kamacite (K) and the ouler
taenite rim (OTR) in the RKPA 79015 mesosiderite. Inset is a fcc
[0011 zone axis diffraction pattern from they phase taken at the
outer taentte rim close to the kamacite (marked with an arrow),
The diffraction pattern contains three sets of upcrIattice refiec
tions.of LI2 ordered strttcture. A number of a precipitates in y
matrix of the outer taenite rim are shown.

Journal of Phase Equilibria Vol. 17 No. 6 1996

525

Authors
Section I: Basic and Applied Research

Copy

specimen was carefully positioned so that interphase inter

faces were oriented parallel to the axis of the EDS detector.

3.

Results

As meteorites cool, u-ferrite nucleates and grows out of the

parent y-austenite. At low temperatures, Ni piles up in the yre
gion close to the aly interface due to the slower diffusion rate
of Ni in the y thus the so-called M shaped Ni concentration
profile develops. As cooling continues belotv 400 C, the ybe
comes structurally zoned. The microstructure of the zoned y
varies with its local Ni concentration indicating that different
transformations have occurred along the Ni concentration gra
dient. The various regions in the zoned yare the outer taenite
rim (OTR). cloudy zone (CZ), clear taenite 2 (CT-2), and
martensite (M), using meteorite terminology. A typical micro
structure of the OTR and CZ regions in meteoritic metal is
shown in Fig. 4. The OTR, which is the outermost region of the
zoned -y, comprises three subzones (1, 2, 3). The outermost
subzone (zone l)is composed of two single-phase layers, y
(Ni3Fe) and y (FeNi), which are not distinguishable using
LOM or SEM. The following zones (zone 2 and 3) are twophase mixtures of the y matrix and a precipitates. These two
zones are easily distinguished using LOM. The bright matrix
and dark etch pits correspond to the y phase and a-, precipi
tates, respectively. The region that abuts the OTR is called the
cloudy zone (CZ) because of its appearance in the LOM. The
CZ is composed of the island region (I), which is a bright re
gion with dark etch pits, and the honeycomb region (H), which
is a dark groove. The island region is the same two-phase mix
ture of the -y matrix and a precipitates as zones 2 and 3 in the

OTR. The honeycomb region is a single phase (a2). The island

regions and honeycomb regions form an interlacing network.
The electron diffraction and quantitative x-ray microanalysis
data from these regions constitute the information needed to
determine the low-temperature phase diagram.
The measured Ni contents and the crystal structures of the vari
ous regions shown in Fig. 4 are summarized in Table 1. As
shown in a Ni composition profile across the afy interface ob
tained with the VG HB5OI AEM (Fig. 5), we measured 65.5
3.3 wt.% Ni at they Ia interface. This Ni content is higher than
the value (51.4 1.0 wt.% Ni) obtained by Reuter et al.
[$9Reul]. They phase, which contains high Ni and consti
tutes the outermost layer of the zoned structure, has the LI., su
perstructure of Ni3Fe (Fig. 6). The y (Ni3fe) phase and a
phase are therefore in equilibrium at low temperatures. Even
with the slow cooling rate of mesosiderites, the width of the
equilibrium y phase is only about 100 nm. As the Ni content
decreases in the OTR, the matrix phase changes from y tome
tastable y. The Ni content decrease yields the two singlephase layer structure of zone 1 in the OTR (fig. 4). The a
phase at the aly interface has a bcc structure and contains 3.6
0.2 wt.% Ni.
A transmission electron microscopy (TEM) bright field image
of the OTR and the CZ at the interface between the two struc
tures (Fig. 7) shows that the OTR (zone 3)is composed of a
y matrix, which appears bright, and a2 precipitates, which
appear dark. Zone 2 is also a mixture of y matrix and a7 pre
cipitates, but contains less precipitates. The y matrix in the
OTR (zone 2 and 3) contains 51.2 1.4 wt.% Ni, essentially
stoichiometric FeNi. The y phase gives rise to superlattice

Fig. 7 TEM bright field image of the outer taenite rim (OTR) and
the cloudy zone (CZ) in the RKPA 79015 mesosiderite. A set of ar
rows indicates the boundary between the two structures. The outer
taenite rim (zone 3) contains a number of a2 precipitates in y ma
trix. The cloudy zone is composed of the island region (I) and the
honeycomb region (H). The island region also contains pre
cipitates.

526

Fig. 8

TEM bright field image of the cloudy zone (CZ) in the

RKPA 79015 mesosiderite showing the island region (I) and the
honeycomb region (H). The island region comprises low-Ni a2bce precipitates in high-Ni y (FeNi) matrix.

Journal of Phase Equilibria Vol. 17 No. 6 1996

Authors Copy
Basic and Applied Research: Section I

spots in electron diffraction patterns, which are consistent with

ordered FeNi having a LI0 superstructure. The precipitates
() in the OTR (zone 2 and 3) contain 14.2 1.0 wt.% Ni and
have a bcc structure. The average Ni content of the OTR (ma
trix + precipitates) decreases from zone 2 to zone 3 and is 46.4
0.7 wt.% Ni at the OTR (zone 3)/CZ interface.

OTR from zone Ito zone 3 is due to an increase in the volume

fraction of the precipitates. This explanation is consistent with
the SEM and TEM observations.

Figure 8 shows a typical ThM bright field image of the CZ.

The island region (I) comprises high Ni matrix and low Ni pre
cipitates (P). The Ni content of the matrix (y ) of the island re
gion is independent of position within the precision of the
analysis and is stoichiometric FeNi with an average Ni content
of 5L$ 1.7 wt.%. Electron diffraction shows that the matrix
(y ) of the island region is the same phase as the matrix of the
OTR; that is, it is ordered FeNi with the LI0 superstructure.
The precipitate in the island region has a bcc structure and con
tains 14.7 1.0 wt.% Ni, which is essentially the same value as
the precipitate in the OTR. The honeycomb region (H), which
appears dark in Fig. 8, is a bce single-phase region containing
9.0 1.0 wt.% Ni. Further microstructural and microchemical
results on these and other meteorites are given in a more exten
sive paper by Yangetal. [96YanIJ.
Combining microstructural and microchemical results, the Ni
concentration profile in the meteoritic metal can be schemati
cally illustrated as shown in Fig. 9. The cz phase has the lowest
Ni content and borders they phase, the phase with the highest
Ni content. The average Ni content decreases from the a/y in
terface through the y, y+,, and a, regions. Since the Ni
concentration of the precipitates does not change throughout
the OTR, the decrease of the average Ni content through the

t
a
F

0
0

fig. 9 Schematic illustration of the Ni concentration profile in

meteoritic metal. At low temperatures, ydecomposes into several
regions with different crystal structures and compositions. Dashed
line represents average Ni concentration. Since the meteorites
studied here contain only the OTR and the CZ regions. composi
tional data for CT-2 and M regions (*) are taken from Reuter et al.
[89Reu 11.

900

800
700
0

600

Cr

ZJ
H

Cr
U
0

Lh

500
U
0

400

300
-

200

100
(a)

SI

72%

10

Ni CONTENT fett. )

20

30

L_
40

Ni CONTENT

(WI.

50

I
60

(5

fig. 10 Fe-Ni phase diagram determined by investigation of meteoritic metal. On this

diagram, a represents a low-Ni bcc phase, yrcpresents
a high-Ni fcc phase, yt represents a low-Ni paramagnetic fcc phase. represents
a high-Ni ferromagnetic fcc phase, y represents ordered
y
Ni3Fe, y represents ordered FeNi, antI a, is mastensite. (a) The meteoritic AEM data
are placed at a temperature of 200 C. Some selected
erimenral data from the literature are also shown. (h) Fe-Ni phase diagram without
all the data.

Journal of Phase Equilibria Vol. 17 No.6 1996

527

Authors Copy
Section I: Basic and Applied Research

4.

4.2 Low-Temperature Phase Fields (Approxi

mately <400 C)

Discussion

The Ni gradients on either side of the interface (Fig. 6 and

8), that is, Mshapcd Ni concentration profiles in the meteoritic

metal, imply that thennodynamic equilibrium below 4t)O
was not present, even in meteorites that have slow cooled for
hundreds of millions ofycars. Local equilibrium occurs only at
the a[y interface where rt of 3.6 wt.% Ni is in contact with y
of 65.5 wt.% Ni. Therefore, the phase diagram generated by
this investigation contains both metastable and equilibrium
phases, and much of the phase diagram below -400 5C is
metastable.
Sc

Our proposed diagram is shown in Fig. 10. Figure IOta) shows

the diagram along with some selected experimental data from
the literature. The meteoritic AEM data (Table I) are plotted
on the diagram at a temperature of 200 C. This temperature
could he in error by 50 C and is based on a calculation that
diffusion on the atomic scale essentially ceases at 200 5C in
fcc y. figure 10(h) shows the diagram ithout all the data. The
phase diagram was established by considering the possible
configurations of the various phase fields observed in this
study and by examining the most recent Fe-Ni phase diagrams
(calculated diagram of Chuang et al. [86Chu2]. Fig. 2, and
experimental diagram of Reuter et al. [%9Reul], fig. 3) to see
how these phase diagrams can he modified to accotint for the
data obtained in this study. The symbols used in the phase dia
gram are consistent with the previous literature [86Chu2.
$9Reu 1).
4.1 High-Temperature Phase Fields (Approxi
mately >400 C)
The alta y) and (a y)/yphase boundaries in the ChuLrng et
al. and Reuteret al. phase diagrams agree reasonably well with
previous data based on measurements of Fe-Ni alloys by
Romig and Goldstein [80Rom. Data obtained h\ Romig and
Goldstein [XORom I are sho n as open squares in fig. 10.
These boundaries above 400CC are left essentially unchanged.
As discussed in the Introduction, Chuang et al. [86ChuI,
$bChu2J constructed the fe-Ni phase diagram by using ther
modynamic calculations. A trieritical point introduced at 462
C and 48.8 wt. Ni associated with a miscibility gap results
as given
in the formation ol a monotectoid reaction at 389
below:
rc

(4l.2 wt.c/t Ni) --s a(6.6 wtJ Ni)

47.5

wt.

Ni)

(2)

The tricritical point is based on the rapid change in Curie tem

with Ni content and the resultant magnetic con
perature
tributions to the Gibbs free energy of the fccy phase [88Linl.
Below the tricritical point, the cc yphase splits into the lt -Ni
1 paramagnetic and the high-Ni terromagnetic 1: phases. The
tricritical point was also accepted by Retiter et al. [X9Reul] in
constructing the fe-Ni phase diagram as shown in Fig. 3. No
data on the phase field were obtained n this stLldy because in
meteorites that we studied the local N composition does not
reach above 51) t.9 at the temperature here the y phase
forms. Accordingly, the trieritical point is left essentially
unchanged.
,

52$

4.2.1

ci +Phase Field

Recently, Zhang Ct al. [94Zha] studied the decomposition ot

fe-Ni martensite by aging martensitic Fe-Ni alloys at tempera
tures between 300 and 450 C. Their results are shown as open
triangles in Fig. 10(a). By means of x-ray analysis, they pro
posed the monotectoid reaction in the temperature range be
tween 400 and 450 C. Because no data points are available
between 400 and 450 C in t94Zha], 400 C, which is close te
the theoretical value (389 C) proposed by Chuang et al., is ac
cepted as the temperature of the monotectoid reaction in the
new phase diagram (Fig. 10). According to Zhang et al
[94Zha], at 400 C, the soluhility limits of Ni in a and yare It
wt.% Ni with an error of 3 wt.% Ni andSO wt.7 Ni with ar
error of 3 wt.% Ni, respectively. The soluhility limit of Ni it
a is higher than the values given by Romig and Goldsteir
[$ORoml and Chuang et al. [86Chu21. This discrepancy is pos
sibly due to the fact that the growth of y precipitates is gov
erned by pam-hal interface control as suggested by Zhang et al
{94ZhaJ. Thus the Ni content for the matrix phase (a) is highei
than the equilibrium value. The soluhility limit of Ni in ycal
culated by Chuang et al. [86Chu2j fits within the error range
given by Romig and Goldstein [2ORom] and Zhang et al
[94Zha]. Therefore, at the temperature of the monotectoid re
action, the soluhility limits of Ni in a and y calculated h
Chuang et al. I 86Chu2] are accepted in the new phase diagram
The (a + y5)1y1 boundary below the monotectoid reaction
constructed using the experimental data of Zhang et al
[94Zha], whereas the aJ(a + y.,) boundary is defined by the ex
perimental data of Romig and Goldstein [8ORom] and the cal
culated boundary ofChuang et al. ($6Chu2].
4.2.2 Miscibility Gap and Spinodal Region
Below the temperature at which the monotectoid reaction oc
curs, the miscibility gap ty1 + y) is continued. This miscihilit
gap is shown by dashed lines representing the metastahh
phase boundaries (y1 + ) (fig. 10). Spinodal boundaries wer
also calculated by Chuang et al. 186Chu2] and are shown a
lines with cross hatching in Fig. 2. Evidence supporting the cx
istence of a miscibility gap in the fe-Ni system and in a simila
srstem, Fe-Pd, can be found in the literature [7ISch, 77Kuh
7$Cha, 79Cha, S2Kub, $4Morj.
The cloudy zone structure in meteorites is formed by a spino
dal decomposition process [8OGui, 82Jag, X3Alb, $8Reu]
Therefore, Reuter et al. [89Reul] modified the low
temperature portion of the miscibility gap and spinoda
boundaries of the Chuang em al. phase diagram based on tb
AEM results obtained from meteorites. Discussion abcut hos
the CZ structure relates to the miscibility gap and spinodal re
gion can he found elsewhere [89Reul]. With improved x-ra
spatial resolution obtained in this study, the boundaries of tb
miscihility gap are redefined using the AEM results obtaine
from the cloudy zone region (Fig. 4 and 7 and Table 1). Th
high-Ni hotmndary of the miscibility gap (7s) is defined by th
Ni content of the matrix of the island region .51.8 wt.L7c Ni i
Table I. This Ni content is consistent with the observation u
Reuter ci al. I %9Reu 1] considering statistical error in x-ray mi

Journal of Phase Equilibria Vol. 17 No. 6 1996

Authors Copy
The low-Ni boundary of the miscibility gap (y1 is
defined by the Ni content of the honeycomb region. 9.0 Wt.L%
Ni (Table 1). This Ni content of 9.t) wt.% is lower than that of
11.7 wt.% observed by Reuter et al. IS9Reul]. Consequently,
the y1 + y, miscibility gap (Fig. 10) is somewhat wider than
that in the Reuteretal. phase diagram, especially at the low-Ni
end. This discrepancy is due to the fact that the x-ray spatial
resolution of the VG HB5OI AEM used in this study for the
measurement of a2 in the honeycomb region is much better
than that of the EM400T AEM used by Reuter et al. [$9Reu II
(2 nrn versus 30 to 50 nrn).
croanalysis.

The spinodal boundaries are defined by the Ni composition ot

the low-Ni end and the high-Ni end of the cloudy zone. The
high-Ni spinodal boundary is defined by the Ni content at the
OTRICZ interface (Table 1). In this study, the high-Ni spino
dal boundary is 46.8 wt.% Ni, which is consistent with the ob
servation of Reuter et al. [89Reu I]. Since the meteorites
investigated in this study contain only the OTR and the CZ, the
low-Ni spinodal boundary, 2$ wt.% Ni, determined by Reuter
ci al. t 89Reu 1] at the CT-2/CZ boundary for iron meteorites is
used in the new phase diagram. In addition, the low-Ni spinu
dal boundary at temperatures higher than 200 C was deter
mined by Reuter et al. [89ReuI, $9Rcu2J using an electron
irradiation experiment (shown as tilled squares in Fig. 10).
This boundary is also accepted in the new phase diagram (Fig.
10). Although the y + y2 miscibility gap is somewhat wider
than that in the Reuteret al. phase diagram, the spinodal region
is unchanged.

At 300 C, the Ni concentrations ofy precipitate measured by

Romig and Goldstein [8ORomJ and Zhang et al. [94Zhal are 7
to It) wt.% lower than the equilibrium composition. The pre
cipitate compositions are determined by martensite decompo
sition. It has been argued that the a and y phases formed hr
marlensite decomposition are in eqtnlibrium at temperatures
above 500 C since the phase compositions of different alloys
are the same at specific aging temperatures and no concentra
tion gradients are observed in either a or y [$ORoml. At low
temperatures (<500 C), however, the decomposition of
martensite becomes more complicated, in part because the dit
fusivity of Fe and Ni in a andy is very low. As a result, the il
loys are usually not fully equilibrated within a practical time
period at low temperatures, and composition gradients are
present in the matrix [94ZhaJ. In addition, the phase transfor
mation process in Fe-Ni alloys at loss temperatures is a kineti
cally governed process. and the phase equilibria are stronglr
affected by the transformation sequence. The phase boundary
compositions may not he the same at low temperatures for the
decomposition of martensitic alloys or the decomposition ol
austenitic alloys. The Fe-Ni phase diagram is valid for the
phase equilibrium formed by nucleation of a in a y matrix, as
in the meteorites. The phase equilibrium formed by martensite
decomposition follows another phase boundary that appears to
bean extension of the high temperature a + y/yhoundars.
4.2.3 Low-Ni Precipitates

The precipitates in the island region and the OTR are the prod
ucts of decomposition of the supersaturated solid solution con
taming from 46 st.% Ni up to 52 wt.% Ni (Fig. 10). This Ni
content is located within the miscibility gap, outside the spinu

Basic and Applied Research: Section I

dal boundary. The supersaturated solid solution decomposes

into low-Ni precipitate and high-Ni matrix. The Ni contents
are defined by the miscibility gap. Detailed discussion about
the decomposition process can he found in 96Yan2 I.

The crystal structure of the precipitates was identified by elec

tron diffraction as bce. In aTEM dark-field image. the honey
comb regions and precipitates are illuminated simultaneously
implying that the honeycomb region and the precipitate have
the same crystal structure. However, the measured Ni content
of the precipitates. 14 wt.7c Ni. is higher than that of the hon
eycomb region, 9.0 wt.% Ni (Table I). Assuming no interfacial or strain energy effects, there are two probable
explanations for the compositional discrepancy.
First, the discrepancy may he related to the spatial resolution
for x-ray microanalysis. It was assumed that ihe precipitate
was through thickness if the size of the precipitate was bigger
than the foil thickness. Even if care was taken to select the
through-thickness precipitates, the possibility that the Ni con
tent of the precipitates could he measured with some contribu
tion of x-rays being generated from the high Ni matrix cannot
he completely ruled out. In addition, specimen drift may influ
ence the analysis. .\lthough the electron probe was positioned
so that x-rays were only being generated from the precipitate,
any specimen drift during analysis would result in Ni x-rays
also being generuied from the matrix. As a result, the Ni con
tent of the precipitates could he lower than 14 wt.% and could
he the same as the Ni content of the honeycomb region.
Second, the discrepancy may he explained in terms of the fun
damentally different formation mechanisms for the two differ
ent a2 phases; that is, honeycomb region and precipitate.
According to the classical theory of spinodal decomposition,
alloys outside the spinodal hut within the miscibility gap can
transform only br a nucleation and growth mechanism. This
transformation req aires overcoming an activation energy barncr and, therefore, is more ditficult to accomplish than spino
dal decomposition. The precipitates torm by nucleation and
growth whereas the honeycomb region forms by spinodal de
composition. In addition, as teniperature decreases, Ni cliffu
sion is no longer able to keep up with the phase composition
defined by the miscibility gap because of the low diftusivity of
the system at loso temperatures. Therefore, it is possible that
the precipitates containing 14 wt.% Ni nucleate at temperaaires higher than 200 C and maintain the same Ni concentra
tion as temperature decreases. Consequently. the Ni content of
the honeycomb region represents the metastahle equilibrium
at the lowest temperature assumed (200 C). sshereas the Ni
ctintent of the precipitates represents the metastahle equilib
riurn at the temperature higher than 2(X) C. For this explana
tion, the Ni contents of the precipitates and the honeycomb
region may define the lotv-Nm boundary of the miscibility gap
(71) at difterent temperatures.
Recently. Rancourt and Scor,,elli I95Ran I reported a new
phase as a possible eqLmmlihrium phase in the Fe-Ni system. This
phase is called antitaenite. lowspin paramagncticj-Fe-Ni
phase (y), with an estimated composition of 25 to 30 at.U%
Ni trom MOsshauer spectroscopy. They proposed that in mete
orites. YLS phase alsvavs occurs in a tine epita.\ at intergrowth
ss ith ordered FeNi
phase. and ther suggested thai low-Ni

Journal ot Phase Equilibria Vol. 17 No). 6 1996

529

Authors Copy

Section I: Basic and Applied Research

precipitates observed in the OTR are However, we ob

served that the precipitates have a bcc structure by electron di f
fraction and that the Ni content of the precipitates is lower than
the estimated Ni composition of YLS Although the precipitates
we observed are not the YLS phase, we cannot conclude that Ys
is not present in the OTR. Unfortunately, the and yLS phases
have practically indistinguishable lattice parameters. There
fore, the YL5 phase is not readily observable as a distinct phase
byTEM.
4.2.4

High-Ni

Phase Fields

A major discrepancy between the Chuang et al. phase diagram

(Fig. 2) and the Reuter et al. phase diagram (Fig. 3) is whether
they (feNi) field is an equilibrium phase. In the Chuang et al.
phase diagram, there is no y single-phase field. Instead, at
50 wt.% Ni, an a + y (Ni3Fe) two-phase field is predicted.
However, the results of many investigations, including studies
of meteorites [77Pct, 8OCla, 88ReuI and studies using irradia
tion to enhance the diffusion rates [79Cha. X9Reu2]. show that
the y (LI0 ordered FeNi) phase exists chemically, structur
ally, and microscopically. By studying metallic phases in me
teorites, Reuter et al. did not observe the a/y equilibrium and
thus concluded that the yphase was present as a stable phase
and that the a andy phases are in equilibri urn at low tempera
tures. Therefore the y phase field was included in the Reuter
et al. phase diagram as an equilibrium phase. However, taking
advantage of the improved spatial resolution of the VG HB5O I
AEM, we observed that the a phase is in equilibrium with y
(Ni3Fe) in meteoritic metal. The Ni concentration at the y Ia
interface obtained with the VG HB5OI AEM is much greater
than the stoichiometric composition of FeNi (y ), 51.25 wt.%
Ni (50.0 at.% Ni), and greater than the value, 51 .4 wt.% Ni, ob
tained by Reuter et al. [89Reul]. With the Reuter et al. phase
diagram (Fig. 3), in which y is a stable phase, there is no way
to have the high-Ni y phase in contact with the a phase. In ad
dition, there is indirect evidence supporting the presence of y
(Ni.Fe) as a meteoritic mineral. The natural mineral form of
Ni-Fe (awaruite) has been found in meteorites [79Hag.
8OMcm, 8lDan. 9lKel. 9lRuh, 95Hua]. The composition
range of awamite reported from EPMA measurements is 63.7
to 68.2 wt.% Ni {95HuaJ, not the stoichiometric 75 at. Ni.
and it is consistent ith the Ni content obtained in this study.
This high Ni content at the aly interface cannot be explained
with the Reuter et al. phase diagram. Thus the y (Ni3Fe) and
y (FeNi) phase fields are modified as shown in Fig. 10 using
the AEM data (Table I) and the phase diagram calculations of
Chtiang et al. [86Chu2]. Chuang et al. predicted a eutectoid re
action at 345 C for the Fe-Ni alloy system as given below:
y(50.5

wt.C/c

Ni

t at

6.2 wt.C Ni)

t63.7 wt.f Ni)

t3)

Heurnann and Karsten t63Heu] also suggested a eutectoid re

action at 345 C with a eutectoid composition of 53.2 vt.C Ni
based on x-ray analysis and electron microscopy. The eutec
toid composition of 53.2 wt.% Ni given b Heurnann and Kar
sten [63HeuJ is 2.7 wt. higher than the value calculated by
Chuang et al. [86Chu2]. In order to obtain alloys that are in
equilibrium at a given temperature, Heumann and Karsten
[63Heu] applied two different methods. For the range 230 to
360 C. they used the decomposition of Ni- and Fe-carhonvls,

53t)

and for alloys above 370 C, they used the transpiration

method. The eutectoid composition suggested by Heumann
and Karsten [63Heu] agrees with measurement by Zhang et al.
[94Zha] and is accepted in the new phase diagram.
In the phase diagram proposed. a andy (Ni.1Fe) phases are in
equilibrium at low temperatures, while the y (feNi) phase is
present as a metastable phase shown as a dashed line in Fig. 10.
They phase region with the critical ordering temperature of
516 C at 74 wt.% Ni, determined by Deen and Woude
[8ODee, 81 Dccl with Mossbauer spectroscopy, is used to con
struct the high-temperature portion of the y phase field.
The low-temperature portion of the (a + y )/y boundary is
determined by the Ni content measured at the yIa interface,
which is 65.5 wt.% Ni. Indirect evidence for the presence of
NiFe as a stable phase can he found in the Fe-Pd and Fe-Pt
systems [82Kuhj, which are iron binaries with an element in
the same elemental group as Ni. The phase diagrams of the FePd and Fe-Pt systems resemble in many respects that of the FeNi system. Ni3Fe-like phases tPd3Fe and PtFe) are stable in
these systems s at low temperatures. feNi-like phases (fePd
and FePt) in the fe-Pd and Fe-Pt systems arc stable. However,
they (FeNi) phase in the fe-Ni system is present as a metas
table line compound. The critical ordering temperature of
FeNi is 320 C at 52 wt.% Ni. This ordering temperature was
first determined by Paulev ci al. [62PauJ using neutron irra
diation and electrical resistivity measurements of Fe-Ni alloys
and was recently confIrmed b\ Reuteret al. [89Reu21 using 1
MeV electron irradiation. The composition of the y (FeNi)
phase is coincident with the dashed line that defines the highNi side of the miscibility gap.

5.

Summary

The low-temperature Fe-Ni phase diagram is assessed by in

vestigating the microstructure and chemistry of the metallic
phases in meteorites using the most advanced SEM and AEM.
The following revisions are proposed.
The new phase diagram incorporates a monotectoid reaction

tyt a + yi. where yt,i s a paramagnetic fcc austenite. a is

a bcc ferrite, and y is a ferromagnetic fcc ausienite) at 400
a + y. where yis Ni3Fe) at
C. a eutectoid reaction (
345 C, and a miscibility gap associated with a spinodal re
gion at low temperatures.
The miscibility gap is located between 9.0 and 51.5 wt.% Ni,

and the spinodal region is located between 28 and 46.4 wt.%

Niat200C.

At low temperatures, a phase is in local equilibrium withy

phase. The y (FeNi) phase containing 51.5 wt.% Ni is me
tasuible. The Ni content of the y phase is 65.5 wt. % at the
y ia interface, the highest Ni reported to date in meteoritic
metal. The rt phase at this interface contains 3.6 wt.% Ni.

The new k)w-lemperature Fe-Ni phase diagram is consistent

with all the phases observed in the metallic regions of
meteorites.

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Journal of Phase Equilibria Vol. 17 No.6 19%

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Journal of Phase Equilibria Vol. 17 No.6 1996

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