Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Discharge and densification in the spark plasma sintering of quasicrystal particles

  • Metals
  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To investigate the micromechanisms involved in the spark plasma sintering of quasicrystals, thin foils were extracted from samples by focused ion beam at the interrupted states and analysed by transmission electron microscopy for the first time. Material jets are present between adjacent particles, indicating the occurrence of discharge/plasma. Surficial material melts first due to discharge and the liquid sputters as a result of the action of electric field, forming material jets. Discharge occurs in all the cavities with the largest gap size of 60 nm. Gap size is a deciding factor for the formation of material jets: Thick jets are only formed in narrow gaps (< 20 nm), while very thin jets or even no jets are present in wide gaps (> 20 nm). A low voltage (< 0.016 V) is needed to trigger the discharge, and it is inferred that quantum tunnelling and thermal excitation promote the formation of discharge within nanopores at relatively high temperatures. Discharge contributes very little to the densification, while the plastic deformation, meditated by a unique type of defect—metadislocations, is the dominant mechanism for it. The phase transformation of icosahedral Al–Cu–Fe–Cr to its crystalline approximants is accompanied by the formation of planar faults.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
Figure 13

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Shechtman D, Blech I, Gratias D, Cahn JW (1984) Metallic phase with long-range orientational order and no translational symmetry. Phys Rev Lett 53(20):1951–1953

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Levine D, Steinhardt PJ (1984) Quasicrystals - A new class of ordered structures. Phys Rev Lett 53(26):2477–2480

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Tanaka R, Ohhashi S, Fujita N, Demura M, Yamamoto A, Kato A, Tsai AP (2016) Application of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to quasicrystal-containing microstructures in the Mg–Cd–Yb system. Acta Mater 119:193–202

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Kamiya K, Takeuchi T, Kabeya N, Wada N, Ishimasa T, Ochiai A, Deguchi K, Imura K, Sato NK (2018) Discovery of superconductivity in quasicrystal. Nat Commun 9(1):154

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Dubois JM (2012) Properties- and applications of quasicrystals and complex metallic alloys. Chem Soc Rev 41(20):6760–6777

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Köster U, Liu W, Liebertz H, Michel M (1993) Mechanical properties of quasicrystalline and crystalline phases in Al–Cu–Fe alloys. J Non-Cryst Solids s153–154(93):446–452

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Dubois JM (2000) New prospects from potential applications of quasicrystalline materials. Mater Sci Eng A 294:4–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Tian Y, Huang H, Yuan G, Ding W (2015) Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of quasicrystal-reinforced Mg–Zn–Gd alloy processed by cyclic extrusion and compression. J Alloys Compd 626:42–48

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Garces G, Medina J, Pérez P, Máthis K, Horváth K, Stark A, Schell N, Adeva P (2018) Influence of quasicrystal I-phase on twinning of extruded Mg–Zn–Y alloys under compression. Acta Mater 151:271–281

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Coury FG, Botta WJ, Bolfarini C, Kiminami CS, Kaufman MJ (2015) Reassessment of the effects of Ce on quasicrystal formation and microstructural evolution in rapidly solidified Al–Mn alloys. Acta Mater 98:221–228

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Saito Y, Chen HS, Mihama K (1986) Icosahedral quasicrystal produced by gas evaporation of an Al–Mn alloy. Appl Phys Lett 48(9):581–583

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Salimon AI, Shevchukov AP, Stepashkin AA, Tcherdyntsev VV, Olifirov LK, Kaloshkin SD (2017) Mechanical alloying as a solid state route for fabrication of Al–Cu–M(= Fe, Cr) quasicrystalline phases. J Alloys Compd 707:315–320

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. García-Escorial A, Lieblich M (2018) Atomization of Al-rich alloys: three paradigmatic case studies. J Alloys Compd 762:203–208

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Lee G, Olevsky EA, Manière C, Maximenko A, Izhvanov O, Back C, Mckittrick J (2017) Effect of electric current on densification behavior of conductive ceramic powders consolidated by spark plasma sintering. Acta Mater 144:524–533

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Cho J, Li J, Li Q, Ding J, Wang H, Xue S, Holland TB, Mukherjee AK, Wang H, Zhang X (2018) In-situ high temperature micromechanical testing of ultrafine grained yttria-stabilized zirconia processed by spark plasma sintering. Acta Mater 155:128–137

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Joo SH, Kato H, Jang MJ, Moon J, Kim EB, Hong SJ, Kim HS (2017) Structure and properties of ultrafine-grained CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloys produced by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering. J Alloy Compd 698:591–604

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Tian LH, Xiong W, Liu C, Lu S, Fu M (2016) Microstructure and wear behavior of atmospheric plasma-sprayed AlCoCrFeNiTi high-entropy alloy coating. J Mater Eng Perform 25(12):1–9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Han QG, Chen ML, Zhang Q, Sun LS, Lin J, Wang LM (2015) Properties of Ti40.83 Zr40.83 Ni18.34 quasicrystalline alloys sintered by Spark Plasma Sintering. J Alloys Compd 650:154–158

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Trzaska Z, Couret A, Monchoux JP (2016) Spark plasma sintering mechanisms at the necks between TiAl powder particles. Acta Mater 118:100–108

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Ramond L, Bernard-Granger G, Addad A, Guizard C (2010) Sintering of a quasi-crystalline powder using spark plasma sintering and hot-pressing. Acta Mater 58(15):5120–5128

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Dong C, Dubois JM (1991) Quasicrystals and crystalline phases in Al65Cu20Fe10Cr5 alloy. J Mater Sci 26(6):1647–1654. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00544677

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Li XZ, Dong C, Dubois JM (1995) Structural study of crystalline approximants of the Al–Cu–Fe–Cr decagonal quasicrystal. J Appl Crystallogr 28(2):96–104

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Hulbert DM, Anders A, Andersson J, Lavernia EJ, Mukherjee AK (2009) A discussion on the absence of plasma in spark plasma sintering. Scr Mater 60(10):835–838

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Zhang ZH, Liu ZF, Lu JF, Shen XB, Wang FC, Wang YD (2014) The sintering mechanism in spark plasma sintering—proof of the occurrence of spark discharge. Scr Mater 81(11):56–59

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Guillon O, Gonzalez-Julian J, Dargatz B, Kessel T, Schierning G, Räthel J, Herrmann M (2014) Field-assisted sintering technology/spark plasma sintering: mechanisms, materials, and technology developments. Adv Eng Mater 16(7):830–849

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Roche S, Laissardière GTD, Mayou D (1997) Electronic transport properties of quasicrystals. J Math Phys 38(4):1794–1822

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Groza JR, Garcia M, Schneider JA (2001) Surface effects in field-assisted sintering. J Mater Res 16(1):286–292

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Chaim R (2007) Densification mechanisms in spark plasma sintering of nanocrystalline ceramics. Mater Sci Eng A 443(1):25–32

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Zou Y, Kuczera P, Sologubenko A, Sumigawa T, Kitamura T, Steurer W, Spolenak R (2016) Superior room-temperature ductility of typically brittle quasicrystals at small sizes. Nat Commun 7:12261

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Heggen M, Houben L, Feuerbacher M (2010) Plastic-deformation mechanism in complex solids. Nat Mater 9(4):332–336

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Korte-Kerzel S, Schnabel V, Clegg WJ, Heggen M (2018) Room temperature plasticity in m-Al13Co4 studied by microcompression and high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. Scr Mater 146:327–330

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Wollgarten M, Saka H, Inoue A (1999) Microstructural investigation of the brittle-to-ductile transition in Al–Pd–Mn quasicrystals. Philos Mag A 79(9):2195–2208

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Huttunen-Saarivirta E (2004) Microstructure, fabrication and properties of quasicrystalline Al–Cu–Fe alloys: a review. Cheminform 35(11):154–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Audier M, Guyot P, Brechet Y (1990) High-temperature stability and faceting of the icosahedral Al–Fe–Cu phase. Philos Mag Lett 61(2):55–62

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Munir ZA, Anselmi-Tamburini U, Ohyanagi M (2006) The effect of electric field and pressure on the synthesis and consolidation of materials: a review of the spark plasma sintering method. J Mater Sci 41(3):763–777. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-006-6555-2

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Singh A, Guo JQ, Tsai AP (2007) Stability and diffraction features of quasicrystal and 2/1 approximant phase in an Au42In42Yb16 alloy. Mater Sci Eng A 449–451:991–994

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Li RT, Dong ZL, Khor KA (2016) Spark plasma sintering of Al–Cr–Fe quasicrystals: electric field effects and densification mechanism. Scr Mater 114:88–92

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Holland TB, Löffler JF, Munir ZA (2004) Crystallization of metallic glasses under the influence of high density dc currents. J Appl Phys 95(5):2896–2899

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Friedman JR, Garay JE, Anselmi-Tamburini U, Munir ZA (2004) Modified interfacial reactions in Ag–Zn multilayers under the influence of high DC currents. Intermetallics 12(6):589–597

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This project was supported by the Ministry of Education, Singapore (AcRF Tier 1, Grant No. RG93/16), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51575245). The TEM observation was performed at the Facility for Analysis, Characterization, Testing and Simulation (FACTS) in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu Province, China

    Ruitao Li & Yun Wang

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore

    Ruitao Li & Zhili Dong

  3. Temasek Laboratories @ NTU, Research Techno Plaza, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore

    Qing Liu

  4. National Demonstration Center for Experimental Materials Science and Engineering Education, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212003, China

    Lihui Tian

  5. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore

    Khiam Aik Khor

  6. State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Di Zhang

Authors
  1. Ruitao Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Qing Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lihui Tian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yun Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Khiam Aik Khor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Di Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Zhili Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ruitao Li or Zhili Dong.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, R., Liu, Q., Tian, L. et al. Discharge and densification in the spark plasma sintering of quasicrystal particles. J Mater Sci 54, 8727–8742 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-03489-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-03489-6

Search

Navigation