Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 January 2011
The sintering process at 840°C and at 925°C, of Zr-7.2 wt. % Fe was studied by room-temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy, x-ray diffractometry, and scanning electron microscopy. According to phase analysis, most of the αFe phase disappeared after 20 h of sintering at 840°C and after 4 h at 925°C. During the sintering, small quantities of the intermetallic compound ZrFe2 as an intermediate phase were observed clearly by the Mössbauer technique and very weakly by x-ray diffractometry. The relationship among the relative quantities of αFe, ZrFe2, and Zr3Fe phases was determined. The change in density as a function of sintering time was measured, and the results were explained on the basis of the different sintering stages and phase transformations.