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Indirect assessment of the surface energy of the Al–Cu–Fe quasicrystal

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Abstract

This work summarizes an attempt to estimate the surface energy of the stable, icosahedral Al–Cu–Fe quasicrystal (i-ACF hereafter). To this end, samples of i-ACF were prepared by sintering a powder produced by ball milling and heat treating a master ingot of composition Al59Cu25.5Fe12.5B3 (at.%), icosahedral lattice structure, and containing negligibly small amounts of contaminating crystalline phases. This powder was then sintered in the shape of a cylinder appropriate for pin-on-disk tests in ambient air. Variable amounts of either Sn or Bi were added to the powder prior to sintering. These elements do not dissolve in the quasicrystal and form small pockets of pure Sn or Bi that are either isolated or percolating, depending on the added volume of metal. Analysis of pin-on-disk data deduced from tests performed at room temperature allows us to conclude that the surface energy of the quasicrystal itself falls between the respective surface energies of the pure metals: γBi ≤ γQC ≤ γSn or 0.5 ≤ γi-ACF ≤ 0.8 J/m2.

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Notes

  1. This approach was used by one of us (JMD, Refs. [17, 18]) while ignoring that Rabinowicz introduced it more than 50 years ago [41]. With JMD’s apologies.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Saint Gobain Coating Solutions for the provision of a batch of F1® base powder. We acknowledge the help of Ph. Masschlein during SPS experiments. One of us (JMD) is thankful to CNPq for financial support during his stay at LRS, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil, in 2015.

Authors’ contributions

DCG prepared the powder specimens and performed the basic characterizations. MCW prepared the sintered pellets. SK performed the pin-on-disk experiments. TAD performed the measurements on SEM. RMG and SJG supervised the work at LSR, UFPB, Brazil. JMD designed the study and wrote the manuscript. All authors participated in the discussions about this work and contributed to amendments of the manuscript. They all agree to co-author the present paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Solidificaçao Rapida (Centro de Tecnologia Universidade Federal da Paraíba Campus Universitário I) cidade universitária, João Pessoa, 58051-900, PB, Brazil

    Danielle Cavalcante Guedes de Lima, Tibério Andrade Dos Passos, Rodinei Gomes Medeiros & Severino Jackson Guedes de Lima

  2. Institut Jean Lamour (UMR 7198 CNRS and Université de Lorraine), Parc de Saurupt, CS50840, 54011, Nancy Cedex, France

    Marie-Cécile de Weerd, Samuel Kenzari & Jean-Marie Dubois

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  1. Danielle Cavalcante Guedes de Lima
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  2. Tibério Andrade Dos Passos
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Correspondence to Jean-Marie Dubois.

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Cavalcante Guedes de Lima, D., Dos Passos, T.A., de Weerd, MC. et al. Indirect assessment of the surface energy of the Al–Cu–Fe quasicrystal. J Mater Sci 51, 4070–4078 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-016-9728-7

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