Compressive deformation behavior of ternary compound Cr2AlC

The compressive properties of ternary compound Cr2AlC at different temperatures and strain rates were studied. When tested at a strain rate of 5.6 × 10−4 s−1, the compressive strength decreases continuously from 997 ± 29 MPa at room temperature to 523 ± 7 MPa at 900 °C. The ductile-to-brittle transition temperature is measured to be in the range of 700 to 800 °C. When tested in the strain rate range of 5.6 × 10−5 to 5.6 × 10−3 s−1, Cr2AlC fails in a brittle mode at room temperature, whereas the deformation mode changes from a brittle to a ductile as the strain rate is lower than 5.6 × 10−4 s−1 when compressed at 800 °C. The compressive strength increases slightly with increasing strain rate at room temperature and it is less dependent on strain rate when tested at 800 °C. The plastic deformation mechanism of Cr2AlC was discussed in terms of dislocation-related activities, such as kink band formation, delamination, decohesion of grain boundary, and microcrack formation.