Metal Pilling-Bedworth Ratio Li 0.57 Ce 1.16 Ta 2.33 W 3.40
The Pilling-Bedworth (PB) ratio helps predict how effectively a metal's oxide scale protects it during high-temperature oxidation. It compares the volume of the oxide formed to the volume of the original metal.
| Metal | Pilling-Bedworth Ratio |
|---|---|
| Li | 0.57 |
| Ce | 1.16 |
| Ta | 2.33 |
| W | 3.40 |
Evaluating the PB ratios:
Based solely on the Pilling-Bedworth ratio, Ce is the most protected metal against high-temperature oxidation because its ratio is closest to 1, favouring the formation of a dense and adherent protective oxide layer.
Both the numerator and the denominator of $\frac{3}{4}$ are increased by a positive integer, x, and those of $\frac{15}{17}$ are decreased by the same integer. This operation results in the same value for both the fractions.
What is the value of x?