A High-Temperature X-ray Diffraction Camera

Selected Applications of High-Temperature X-Ray Studies in the Metallurgical Field

High-temperature X-ray powder photography has proved of great value in many directions in the metallurgical field. Some of the successes achieved and problems encountered by the author and other investigators using an established-type camera (British Unicam) for temperatures up to 1400°C will be discussed. This will be by way of specific case histories, chosen both for their own scientific interest and to illustrate the techniques employed. The applications concern phase transformations and the measurement of coefficients of thermal expansion in iron and steels, as well as in some nonferrous metals and inorganic compounds.

Development of an x-ray diffraction camera used in magnetic fields up to 10 T

A high-field x-ray diffraction (HF-XRD) camera was developed to observe structural changes of magnetic materials in magnetic fields up to 10 T. The instrument mainly consists of a Debye-Scherrer-type camera with a diameter of 80.1 mm, a 10-T cryocooled superconducting magnet with a 100-mm room-temperature bore, an x-ray source, a power supply, and a chiller for the x-ray source. An x-ray detector (image plate) in the HF-XRD camera can be taken out and inserted into the magnet without changing the sample position. The performance of the instrument was tested by measuring the HF-XRD for silicon and ferromagnetic MnBi powders. A change of x-ray diffraction pattern was observed due to the magnetic orientation of MnBi, showing that the instrument is useful for studying field-induced orientation processes and structural properties of field-controlled materials.

X-ray diffraction measurements in high magnetic fields and at high temperatures

A system was developed measuring x-ray powder diffraction in high magnetic fields up to 5 T and at temperatures from 283 to 473 K. The stability of the temperature is within 1 K over 6 h. In order to examine the ability of the system, the high-field x-ray diffraction measurements were carried out for Si and a Ni-based ferromagnetic shape-memory alloy. The results show that the x-ray powder diffraction measurements in high magnetic fields and at high temperatures are useful for materials research.