Microstructure and chemistry of Al-V-Fe-Si nancquasicrystalline alloys

Rapidly solidified Al94V4Fe2 allows have been produced by the single roller melt spinning technique. The microstructures were analysed using TEM and the fine-scale chemistry was studied using EDX. The tensile and hardness properties were investigated and the effect of heating on the microstructures was analysed using a combination of DSC and in situ TEM heat treatments. The microstructures of all of the ribbons were found to consist of solute-rich nanoscale quasicrystalline anti crystalline particles in an aluminium-rich fee matrix. It was found that the higher the quench rate, the finer the microstructures. The addition of silicon to the master alloys had the effect of further reducing the scale of the microstructure. From tensile testing of the ribbons, it was found that although some of the UTS values were high, up to 960 MPa, the scatter of data was large. The scatter in the hardness test data was lower indicating that the material could potentially be developed far use in compressive applications. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.