No Arabic abstract
In the Al-Co-Cu alloy system, both the decagonal quasicrystal with the space group of $Poverline{10}m2$ and its approximant Al$_{13}$Co$_4$ phase with monoclinic $Cm$ symmetry are present around 20 at.% Co-10 at.% Cu. In this study, we examined the crystallographic features of prepared Al-(30-x) at.% Co-x at.% Cu samples mainly by transmission electron microscopy in order to make clear the crystallographic relation between the decagonal quasicrystal and the monoclinic Al$_{13}$Co$_4$ structure. The results revealed a coexistence state consisting of decagonal quasicrystal and approximant Al$_{13}$Co$_4$ regions in Al-20 at.% Co-10 at.% Cu alloy samples. With the help of the coexistence state, the orientation relationship was established between the monoclinic Al$_{13}$Co$_4$ structure and the decagonal quasicrystal. In the determined relationship, the crystallographic axis in the quasicrystal was found to be parallel to the normal direction of the (010)$_{rm m}$ plane in the Al$_{13}$Co$_4$ structure, where the subscript m denotes the monoclinic system. Based on data obtained experimentally, the state stability of the decagonal quasicrystal was also examined in terms of the Hume-Rothery (HR) mechanism on the basis of the nearly-free-electron approximation. It was found that a model based on the HR mechanism could explain the crystallographic features such as electron diffraction patterns and atomic arrangements found in the decagonal quasicrystal. In other words, the HR mechanism is most likely appropriate for the stability of the decagonal quasicrystal in the Al-Co-Cu alloy system.
We measured the temperature and fluence dependence of the time-resolved photoinduced optical reflectivity in a decagonal Al_{71.9}Ni_{11.1}Co_{17.0} quasicrystal. We find no evidence for the relaxation of a hot thermalized electron gas as observed in metals. Instead, a quick diffusion of the hot nonthermal carries ~40 nm into the bulk is detected enhanced by the presence of a broad ~1 eV pseudogap. From the relaxation dynamics we find an evidence for the presence of a fine structure in the electronic density of states around ~13 meV from the Fermi energy. The structure is related to a weak bottleneck for the carrier relaxation observed at low temperatures.
Microstructure modifications induced by sliding a WC-Co indenter in scratch tests on the surface of a single phase AlCuFe icosahedral quasicrystal (IQC) was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The scratch track was shown tocomprise many smaller tracks. Dislocations were discovered to emerge from the edges of the smaller scratch tracks. Along a small track where shear stress is concentrated, a phase transition from IQC to a body-centered cubic (b.c.c.) phase with lattice parameter a=0.29 nm was pointed out. A modulated quasicrystal state as well as a deformation twin of IQC were determined in the region beneath the scratch.
Thick-section plates made from a recently developed Al-Cu-Mg-Li alloy have been evaluated to understand the influence of microstructure on the anisotropy of tensile strengths after natural and artificial ageing treatment. Pancake-shaped grains with a coarse substructure and strong crystallographic texture with a beta-fibre orientation at the mid-thickness position are observed. In addition, an inhomogeneous distribution of T1 precipitates through the plate thickness has been revealed with the volume fraction of intragranular precipitates ~ 40% higher at the plate centre than the thickness position. Altogether these microstructural features contribute to the in-plane anisotropy of tensile strengths that is ~ 5% higher at the mid-thickness position than the 1/4 thickness position. The variation of ageing-induced T1 precipitates through the plate thickness further contributes to the through-thickness anisotropy that is ~ 3% higher in T8 temper as compared to T3 temper.
Understanding the mechanisms which relate properties of liquid and solid phases is crucial for fabricating new advanced solid materials, such as glasses, quasicrystals and high-entropy alloys. Here we address this issue for quasicrystal-forming Al-Cu-Fe alloys which can serve as a model for studying microscopic mechanisms of quasicrystal formation. We study experimentally two structural-sensitive properties of the liquid -- viscosity and undercoolability -- and compare results with textit{ab initio} investigations of short-range order (SRO). We observe that SRO in Al-Cu-Fe melts is polytetrahedral and mainly presented by distorted Kasper polyhedra. However, topologically perfect icosahedra are almost absent an even stoichiometry of icosahedral quasicrystal phase that suggests the topological structure of local polyhedra does not survive upon melting. It is shown that the main features of interatomic interaction in Al-Cu-Fe system, extracted from radial distribution function and bong-angle distribution function, are the same for both liquid and solid states. In particular, the system demonstrates pronounced repulsion between Fe and Cu as well as strong chemical interaction between Fe and Al, which are almost concentration-independent. We argue that SRO and structural-sensitive properties of a melt may serve as useful indicators of solid phase formation. In particular, in the concentration region corresponding to the composition of the icosahedral phase, a change in the chemical short-range order is observed, which leads to minima on the viscosity and udercoolability isotherms and has a noticeable effect on the initial stage of solidification.
We developed new modified embedded-atom method (MEAM) interatomic potentials for the Mg-Al alloy system using a first-principles method based on density functional theory (DFT). The materials parameters, such as the cohesive energy, equilibrium atomic volume, and bulk modulus, were used to determine the MEAM parameters. Face-centered cubic, hexagonal close packed, and cubic rock salt structures were used as the reference structures for Al, Mg, and MgAl, respectively. The applicability of the new MEAM potentials to atomistic simulations for investigating Mg-Al alloys was demonstrated by performing simulations on Mg and Al atoms in a variety of geometries. The new MEAM potentials were used to calculate the adsorption energies of Al and Mg atoms on Al (111) and Mg (0001) surfaces. The formation energies and geometries of various point defects, such as vacancies, interstitial defects and substitutional defects, were also calculated. We found that the new MEAM potentials give a better overall agreement with DFT calculations and experiments when compared against the previously published MEAM potentials.