Structural Characterization of Rapidly Solidified Al71Ni24Fe5 Alloy

The influence of rapid solidification from the liquid state on the structure of Al71Ni24Fe5 alloy was studied. The samples were prepared by induction melting (ingots) and high pressure die casting into a copper mold (plates). The structure was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), light microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The mechanism of crystallization was described on the basis of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) heating and cooling curves, XRD patterns, isothermal section of Al-Ni-Fe alloys at 850 degrees C and binary phase diagram of Al-Ni alloys. The fragmentation of the structure was observed for rapidly solidified alloy in a form of plates. Additionally, the presence of decagonal quasicrystalline phase D-Al70.83Fe9.83Ni9.34 was confirmed by phase analysis of XRD patterns, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) of transmission electron microscopy images. The metastable character of D-Al70.83Fe9.83Ni9.34 phase was observed because of the lack of thermal effects on the DSC curves. The article indicates the differences with other research works and bring up to date the knowledge about Al71Ni24Fe5 alloys produced by two different cooling rates.