SPINODAL DECOMPOSITION IN Cu-30Ni-5Cr ALLOY.

Samples quenched from 1273K were aged in the temperature range of 623-1073K for different periods of time. Progress in spinodal decomposition was followed through hardness measurements and X-ray diffraction studies. Modulation wavelengths and lattice strains were computed from corrected X-ray diffraction profiles. During early stages of ageing the modulation wavelength remained constant while hardness increased continuously. After a certain period hardness remained constant at the peak value whereas the modulation wavelength increased continuously. A plot of lattice strain against ageing time on a log-log scale was S-shaped. The spinodal temperature is estimated to be 953K.