Evaluation of Metallurgical Quality of Master Heat IN-713C Nickel Alloy Ingots

The paper presents the results of evaluation of the metallurgical quality of master heat ingots and of the identification of non-metallic inclusions (oxides of Al., Zr, Hf, Cr, etc.), which have been found in the shrinkage cavities formed in these ingots. The inclusions penetrate into the liquid alloy, and on pouring of mould are transferred to the casting, especially when the filtering system is not sufficiently effective. The specific nature of the melting process of nickel and cobalt alloys, carried out in vacuum induction furnaces,excludes the possibility of alloy refining and slag removal from the melt surface. Therefore, to improve the quality of castings (parts of aircraft engines), it is so important to evaluate the quality of ingots before charging them into the crucible of an induction furnace. It has been proved that one of the methods for rapid quality evaluation is an ATD analysis of the sample solidification process, where samples are taken from different areas of the master heat ingot. The evaluation is based on a set of parameters plotted on the graph of the dT/dt derivative curve during the last stage of the solidification process in a range from TEut to Tsol

Neutron-rich Chromium Isotope Anomalies in Supernova Nanoparticles

Neutron-rich isotopes with masses near that of iron are produced in Type Ia and II supernovae (SNeIa and SNeII). Traces of such nucleosynthesis are found in primitive meteorites in the form of variations in the isotopic abundance of ^(54)Cr, the most neutron-rich stable isotope of chromium. The hosts of these isotopic anomalies must be presolar grains that condensed in the outflows of SNe, offering the opportunity to study the nucleosynthesis of iron-peak nuclei in ways that complement spectroscopic observations and can inform models of stellar evolution. However, despite almost two decades of extensive search, the carrier of ^(54)Cr anomalies is still unknown, presumably because it is fine grained and is chemically labile. Here, we identify in the primitive meteorite Orgueil the carrier of ^(54)Cr anomalies as nanoparticles (3.6 × solar). Such large enrichments in ^(54)Cr can only be produced in SNe. The mineralogy of the grains supports condensation in the O/Ne-O/C zones of an SNII, although a Type Ia origin cannot be excluded. We suggest that planetary materials incorporated different amounts of these nanoparticles, possibly due to late injection by a nearby SN that also delivered ^(26)Al and ^(60)Fe to the solar system. This idea explains why the relative abundance of ^(54)Cr and other neutron-rich isotopes vary between planets and meteorites. We anticipate that future isotopic studies of the grains identified here will shed new light on the birth of the solar system and the conditions in SNe

Electronic environments of ferrous iron in rhyolitic and basaltic glasses at high pressure

The physical properties of silicate melts within Earth's mantle affect the chemical and thermal evolution of its interior. Chemistry and coordination environments affect such properties. We have measured the hyperfine parameters of iron-bearing rhyolitic and basaltic glasses up to ~120 GPa and ~100 GPa, respectively, in a neon pressure medium using time domain synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy. The spectra for rhyolitic and basaltic glasses are well explained by three high-spin Fe^(2+)-like sites with distinct quadrupole splittings. Absence of detectable ferric iron was confirmed with optical absorption spectroscopy. The sites with relatively high and intermediate quadrupole splittings are likely a result of fivefold and sixfold coordination environments of ferrous iron that transition to higher coordination with increasing pressure. The ferrous site with a relatively low quadrupole splitting and isomer shift at low pressures may be related to a fourfold or a second fivefold ferrous iron site, which transitions to higher coordination in basaltic glass, but likely remains in low coordination in rhyolitic glass. These results indicate that iron experiences changes in its coordination environment with increasing pressure without undergoing a high-spin to low-spin transition. We compare our results to the hyperfine parameters of silicate glasses of different compositions. With the assumption that coordination environments in silicate glasses may serve as a good indicator for those in a melt, this study suggests that ferrous iron in chemically complex silicate melts likely exists in a high-spin state throughout most of Earth's mantle

A general moment NRIXS approach to the determination of equilibrium Fe isotopic fractionation factors: application to goethite and jarosite

We measured the reduced partition function ratios for iron isotopes in goethite FeO(OH), potassium-jarosite KFe3(SO4)2(OH)6, and hydronium-jarosite (H3O)Fe3(SO4)2(OH)6, by Nuclear Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering (NRIXS, also known as Nuclear Resonance Vibrational Spectroscopy -NRVS- or Nuclear Inelastic Scattering -NIS) at the Advanced Photon Source. These measurements were made on synthetic minerals enriched in 57Fe. A new method (i.e., the general moment approach) is presented to calculate {\beta}-factors from the moments of the NRIXS spectrum S(E). The first term in the moment expansion controls iron isotopic fractionation at high temperature and corresponds to the mean force constant of the iron bonds, a quantity that is readily measured and often reported in NRIXS studies.Comment: 38 pages, 2 tables, 8 figures. In press at Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. Appendix C contains new derivations relating the moments of the iron PDOS to the moments of the excitation probability function measured in Nuclear Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scatterin

Solar Wind Abundances of C and O

Quantitative understanding of solar wind (SW) elemental fractionation is required to improve knowledge of the solar nebula abundances from Genesis samples, in particular abundances of volatile elements, depleted in CI chondrites. Ratios of elements with low and high first ionization potential (FIP) in the solar wind, e.g., Fe/He, are higher than photospheric abundances. C, O, and N have intermediate FIP and are thus critical as to whether this fractionation is stepwise or gradual as a function of FIP

Coordinated Analyses of Presolar Grains in the Allan Hills 77307 and Queen Elizabeth Range 99177 Meteorites

We report the identification of presolar silicates (~177 ppm), presolar oxides (~11 ppm), and one presolar SiO2 grain in the Allan Hills (ALHA) 77307 chondrite. Three grains having Si isotopic compositions similar to SiC X and Z grains were also identified, though the mineral phases are unconfirmed. Similar abundances of presolar silicates (~152 ppm) and oxides (~8 ppm) were also uncovered in the primitive CR chondrite Queen Elizabeth Range (QUE) 99177, along with 13 presolar SiC grains and one presolar silicon nitride. The O isotopic compositions of the presolar silicates and oxides indicate that most of the grains condensed in low-mass red giant and asymptotic giant branch stars. Interestingly, unlike presolar oxides, few presolar silicate grains have isotopic compositions pointing to low-metallicity, low-mass stars (Group 3). The 18O-rich (Group 4) silicates, along with the few Group 3 silicates that were identified, likely have origins in supernova outflows. This is supported by their O and Si isotopic compositions. Elemental compositions for 74 presolar silicate grains were determined by scanning Auger spectroscopy. Most of the grains have non-stoichiometric elemental compositions inconsistent with pyroxene or olivine, the phases commonly used to fit astronomical spectra, and have comparable Mg and Fe contents. Non-equilibrium condensation and/or secondary alteration could produce the high Fe contents. Transmission electron microscopic analysis of three silicate grains also reveals non-stoichiometric compositions, attributable to non-equilibrium or multistep condensation, and very fine scale elemental heterogeneity, possibly due to subsequent annealing. The mineralogies of presolar silicates identified in meteorites thus far seem to differ from those in interplanetary dust particles.Comment: 23 pages, 16 figure