A study of spinodal decomposition in Ni-30 at% Cu and Cu-46 at% Ni-4 at% Fe alloys using electrical resistivity measurements

The spinodal decomposition in Ni 30 at% Cu and Cu-46 at% Ni-4 at% Fe alloys has been investigated using electrical resistivity measurements. The electrical resistivity results, for ageing temperatures between 423 and 823 K, were analysed from the equation of change of electrical resistivity for spinodal decomposition in binary alloys proposed by Kolometz and Smirnov, together with the classical spinodal decomposition theory of Cahn. This analysis enabled us to obtain a plot of the amplification factor, R(β), as a function of temperature. From this plot, the coherent spinodal temperatures for Ni-30 at% Cu and Cu-46 at% Ni-4 at% Fe alloys were found at 590 and 790 K, respectively, and are in good agreement with experimental and theoretical values reported by other authors.