Effects of the fourth component and undercooling on morphology of primary Mg-Zn-Y icosahedral quasicrystal phase under normal casting conditions

The paper presents some results of the investigation on effects of the fourth component (Ti, C, Sb or Cu) and undercooling on the morphology, size and forming process of primary Mg-Zn-Y icosahedral quasicrystal phase (I-phase) under normal casting conditions. The result shows that the addition of certain amount of fourth component can transform I-phase morphology from petal-like to spherical. However, I-phase will grow up to petal-like if superfluous addition of the fourth component applied. It is also found that the solidified morphology of I-phase depends on the stability of spherical I-phase during the subsequent growth, and critical radius of maintaining the spherical I-phase interface relatively stable. Further, mini-sized spherical I-phase can be produced with high content of the fourth component by undercooling. Such findings are benefical for industrializing Mg-based quasicrystals.