Mechanical properties of Al–Cu–Fe alloys sintered at high pressure

Abstract

The structure and mechanical behavior of bulk Al-Cu-Fe materials sintered at high hydrostatic pressure are studied at room temperature. Quasicrystalline Al 63 Cu 25 Fe 12 and Al 62.7 Cu 25 Fe 12 Sc 0.3 powders and Al 66 Cu 18 Fe 8 Cr 8 , powder, which is the quasicrystal approximant, are sintered at high pressure. The powders are obtained by high-pressure water atomization. At an optimal hot compaction pressure of 4.5 GPa, the porosity of the compact materials is lower than 2%. Sintering is conducted at 700°C. The stress-strain curves of quasicrystals and their approximants that are brittle in standard test conditions are obtained using indentation method. It is shown that the crystalline approximants of quasicrystals are much closer in their mechanical behavior to quasicrystals than to crystalline solids.