Experimental investigation and thermodynamic calculation in the Ag–Bi–Ni and Cu–Bi–Ni systems

The phase equilibria at 300, 400, 500, and 600 °C in the Ag–Bi–Ni system and 300, 400, and 500 °C in the Cu–Bi–Ni system were experimentally determined by metallography and electron probe microanalysis on equilibrated alloys and diffusion couples. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to measure the temperatures of phase transformations. All the experimental results show that the solubilities of the ternary elements of the binary intermetallic compounds in the Ag–Bi–Ni system are limited. However, the binary intermetallic compounds have some solubilities of the ternary elements in the Cu–Bi–Ni system. No ternary intermetallic compound was found in the Ag–Bi–Ni and Cu–Bi–Ni systems. On the basis of the determined results, the phase equilibria in the Ag–Bi–Ni and Cu–Bi–Ni systems were thermodynamically assessed, and reasonable agreement between the calculated results and experimental data was obtained.