Special Issue "Frank-Kasper Phases"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Stanislaw M. Dubiel
Faculty of Physics and Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, al. Mickiewicza 30, PL-30-059 Krakow, Poland
Website: http://www.ftj.agh.edu.pl/~Dubiel/
E-Mail: dubiel@novell.ftj.agh.edu.pl
Phone: +48 12 617 29 73
Fax: +48 12 634 00 10
Interests: experimental solid state physics; iron-alloys and compounds; magnetism; electronic structure; spin-density waves; sigma-phase; phase decomposition; iron in living organisms; Moessbauer spectroscopy

Dear Colleagues,

Frank-Kasper (FK) or topologically close-packed phases have a complex crystallographic structure which can be represented in terms of polyhedra with 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 coordination numbers. The most common members of a FK-phases family are: A15, Laves phases, M, P, R,γ, δ, μ and σ. Among them the Laves phases and s seem to be the most frequently investigated ones. The interest in FK-phases is twofold: technological and scientific. The former stems from the fact that their presence in technologically important materials like stainless steels, Co- and Ni-based superalloys, is detrimental to their useful properties because FK-phases precipitate non-coherently, are brittle, and often deplete the matrix of solid-solution elements, thus changing the original material properties. In other words, FK-phases are technologically an unwanted phenomenon. On the other hand, scientifically, they are very interesting per se as complex objects. Furthermore, they are quite challenging, first because most of them have not yet been investigated thoroughly enough and their physical properties are not known in detail, and second because their complex and often non-stoichiometric structure makes them a very demanding target for theoretical calculations. The latter feature also causes the interpretation of measurements carried out on FK-phases to be difficult and not unique. In such circumstances, a combination of both experimental and theoretical studies can be the proper approch to succesfully investigate physical properties of FK-phases. Knowledge of the latter may have a positive impact on the technology of materials in which FK-phases may potentially precipitate. We are highly pleased that experts in this field have agreed to contribute their research achievements to this special issue.

Prof. Dr. Stanislaw M. Dubiel
Guest Editor

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• Topologically close-packed phases;
• Frank-Kasper phases;
• s-phase; Laves phases;
• high-coordination solid state structures;
• technologically important materials;
• alloys and compounds;
• stainless steels;
• superalloys