Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
Recent experiments have proved the efficiency of T.E.P. measurements in phase transformation studies. The main features of the technique are presented and two particular examples of application are given (influence of plastic deformation on short range ordering (S.R.O.) and study of dissolution of the equilibrium Θ phase in Al-Cu alloys).
Since the first studies [1] only very few attempts have been made to use thermoelectrical power measurements (T.E.P.) to characterize the evolution of an alloy during phase transformation. However, in spite of the complexity of the theoretical interpretations, T.E.P. measurements can give valuable informations on the microstructure of the material, sometimes with more easiness or more precision than with other techniques or even informations which would be impossible to obtain by another way.