Prof. W. H.

Warnes
Office: Rogers Hall 308
Phone and Voice Mail: (541) 737-7016
FAX (541) 737-2600
This page last updated December 6, 2005
email: warnesw@engr.orst.edu
Due Date: Not Graded, Solutions posted on Sunday, December 4, 2005.
TERNARY PHASE DIAGRAMS
1) Create a ternary isothermal section (equilateral triangle). Label the three apex points as Mg, Al,
and O. Plot on this isotherm the position of the alloys with the following compositions;
Binary alloy of composition Mg-33at%Al (this means 33at% Al with the rest Mg), a.
Ternary alloy of composition Mg-80at%Al-10at%O, b.
The ternary alloys with a constant ratio of Mg: Al of 4:1, c.
The ternary alloys along a composition line with terminal binary compositions of Al
2
O
3
, and
MgO. (NOTE: This is the basis for the pseudo-binary phase diagram for the Al
2
O
3
-MgO
system.)
d.
2) What is the MAXIMUM number of phases that can be in equilibrium together in a
QUATERNARY system, and why?
3) In class, we worked out that the slope of the entropy of mixing as a function of composition at
the pure A and pure B ends (N
A
=1 and 0) is infinite. This explains why defect-free and
impurity-free materials are so difficult to create. Let's find out if the same is true for ternary alloys.
Write the entropy of mixing for a ternary system as a function of composition (N
A
, N
B
, and
N
C
);
a.
Determine the slope of the entropy of mixing equation at the pure A vertex; b.
Plot the entropy of mixing as a function of N
A
(from N
A
=0 to N
A
=1) for the series of
alloys with a constant ratio of N
B
:N
C
=1:1;
c.
Determine the slope of this curve at the N
A
=0 axis; d.
Based on the results from parts a-d, is the ternary the same as the binary in regards to how
difficult it is to produce defect- and impurity-free materials?
e.
ME581 Extra Problems: (ME 581 students must do these in addition to the above set).
4) a) Determine the equation for an ideal solution model in a ternary (you should be able to write it
down from simple extrapolation from the binary). For a ternary alloy mixture (A, B, C), determine
the free energy curve at 1200 deg K for the ideal solution as a function of composition. (NOTE:
ME 481/581 Homework Six http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/me581/Homework/F05/ME481Hmwk6.html
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Assume that, at this temperature, G
o
A
=-61,000 J/mole, G
o
B
=-63,500 J/mole, and G
o
C
=-65,080
J/mole.).
b) Make a plot of the free energy as a function of B composition for a ternary alloy with a fixed
ratio of A:C of 1:3. (NOTE: This is a pseudo-binary approach to making the ternary phase
diagram.)
c) SKETCH on your plot how this curve would change if the phase were a REGULAR solution
with a negative heat of mixing.
SOLUTIONS
1) Create a ternary isothermal section ... with the following compositions...
2) What is the MAXIMUM number of phases that can be in equilibrium together in a QUATERNARY system,
and why?
The maximum number of phases in equilibrium together in a quaternary alloy is found from the Gibbs Phase
Rule to be FIVE:
F =C +1 - P, where F =the number of degrees of freedom, C =number of components, and P =number of
phases. With C =4 (for the quaternary alloy), and F =0 (to give the maximum number of phases, P =C +1 - F
=4 +1 - 0 =5.
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3) Let's find out if the same is true for ternary alloys.
a.
b.
c. Using the equation in part 1, I got the following plot in EXCEL:
(NOTE that the plot is not symmetric!)
d. Use the equation in part 2 and the fact that N
B
=N
C
to get the following for the slope:
e. The answer is "YES", the ternary is the same as the binary-- the infinite slopes at the end points mean that
getting defect free ternaries is just as difficult as defect free binaries.
ME581 Extra Problems: (ME 581 students must do these in addition to the above set).
4) a) Determine the equation...
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b) Make a plot of the free energy as a function of B...
c) SKETCH on your plot how this curve would change if the phase were a REGULAR solution with a negative
heat of mixing.
(I put this on the same plot in part b. The negative heat of mixing basically just makes the free energy curve
DEEPER everywhere.)
End of File.
ME 481/581 Homework Six http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/me581/Homework/F05/ME481Hmwk6.html
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