Abstract:In this paper, the electronic, mechanical and thermodynamic properties of AlNi 2 Ti are studied by first-principles calculations in order to reveal the influence of AlNi 2 Ti as an interfacial phase on ZTA (zirconia toughened alumina)/Fe. The results show that AlNi 2 Ti has relatively high mechanical properties, which will benefit the impact or wear resistance of the ZTA/Fe composite. The values of bulk, shear and Young's modulus are 164.2, 63.2 and 168.1 GPa respectively, and the hardness of AlNi 2 Ti (4.4 GPa) is comparable to common ferrous materials. The intrinsic ductile nature and strong metallic bonding character of AlNi 2 Ti are confirmed by B/G and Poisson's ratio. AlNi 2 Ti shows isotropy bulk modulus and anisotropic elasticity in different crystallographic directions. At room temperature, the linear thermal expansion coefficient (LTEC) of AlNi 2 Ti estimated by quasi-harmonic approximation (QHA) based on Debye model is 10.6 × 10 −6 K −1 , close to LTECs of zirconia toughened alumina and iron. Therefore, the thermal matching of ZTA/Fe composite with AlNi 2 Ti interfacial phase can be improved. Other thermodynamic properties including Debye temperature, sound velocity, thermal conductivity and heat capacity, as well as electronic properties, are also calculated.