Interdiffusion behaviors and mechanical properties of Zr-X (X Nb, Ta, Hf) binary systems

The diffusion behaviors and the mechanical properties of Zr-X (X Nb, Ta, Hf) systems have been systematically investigated at the annealing temperature range of 950–1200 °C. Based on the Sauer-Freise method and the Hall method, the interdiffusion coefficients of the Zr-rich alloys were evaluated, and the impurity diffusion coefficients on the Zr-rich side have been extracted by using the Darken equation. The presently obtained interdiffusion coefficients and impurity diffusion coefficients are all in good agreement with experimental data in the literature. According to the Arrhenius regression, the diffusion activation energies of the three systems have been calculated. It can be concluded that the diffusion activation energies of the Zr-Ta system are the largest value. Finally, the hardness and Young’s modulus of the Zr-X have been obtained by using the nanoindentation test. The present results can help the materials design, research and development for the Zr-based alloys.