Characterization of Zr-Ti-Nb alloys by AFM

Abstract

Over the last decade, applications of Zirconium and its alloys have seen tremendous growth. The name of zirconium is taken from the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. It is a lustrous, gray-white, strong transition metal that resembles titanium. Zirconium is a fascinating d-orbital transition metal occurs in more than 30 recognized mineral species and its chemical compounds, such as oxides and phosphates are often used in refractory applications for their resistance to thermal shock and their extremely low thermal conductivity [1][2]. A large amount of research has been directed towards the study of the metallurgy of Zirconium due to its application in nuclear reactors. Thus considerable effort has been made by many groups to determine experimentally the factors affecting the constitutional behavior of zirconium it has been widely used for nuclear and chemical applications owing to its low neutron absorption cross section and exceptional resistance to corrosion [3].