Phase equilibria and mechanical properties of the Ir–W–Al system

• The phase equilibria of the Ir–W and Ir–Al systems were experimentally investigated.
• The phase diagrams of the Ir–W–Al system at 1300 °C and 1400 °C were determined.
• The L12 ternary compound, Ir3(W,Al), was confirmed.
• The hardness and 0.2% proof stress were investigated at temperatures up to 1200 °C.
• Ir–W–Al alloys with the γ + γ′ structure showed high strength at high temperatures.

Phase equilibria in the Ir–W, Ir–Al and Ir–W–Al systems at temperatures between 1100 °C and 1600 °C were experimentally investigated using diffusion couples and two- or three-phase alloys, and the mechanical properties of γ′ (L12) strengthened Ir–W–Al alloys were examined by hardness and compression tests at room and elevated temperatures. The phase boundaries between the γ(A1)/ε′(D019), ε′/ε(A3) and ε/ε″(B19) in the Ir–W system at 1400 °C–1600 °C and those between the γ/β(B2) and β/Al2.7Ir in the Ir–Al system at 1100 °C–1400 °C were determined. The phase diagrams in the Ir-rich corner of the Ir–W–Al ternary system at 1300 °C and 1400 °C were also determined. The existence of the γ′ phase of the Ir3(W,Al) ternary compound was confirmed, and this system was found to consist of the γ, γ′, ε, ε′ and β phases in the Ir-rich portion. It was also found from hardness and compression tests up to 1200 °C that Ir–Al–W alloys having the γ + γ′ structure with a small lattice misfit show high hardness and strength at room and high temperatures.