Thermodynamic assessment of Ni-Yb binary system

On the basis of the experimental data of phase equilibria and thermochemical properties available from literatures, a critical assessment for the Ni-Yb binary system was carried out using the CALPHAD (calculation of phase diagrams) method. The liquid phase is modeled as the associate model with the constituent species Ni, Yb and YbNi3, owing to the sharp change of the enthalpy of mixing of liquid phase at the composition of around 25% Yb (mole fraction). The terminal solid solutions FCC_A1 (Ni/Yb) and BCC_A2 (Yb) are described by the substitutional solution model with the Redlich-Kister polynomial. The intermetallic compounds, Yb2Ni17, YbNi5, YbNi3, YbNi2, α-YbNi and β-YbNi, are treated as strict stoichiometric compounds, since there are no noticeable homogeneity ranges reported for these compounds. A set of self-consistent thermodynamic parameters for the Ni-Yb binary system are obtained. According to the presently assessed results, the thermochemical properties and the phase boundary data can be well reproduced.