Structural and Mechanical Behaviour of Al-Fe Intermetallics

In this chapter, results of our recent investigations on Al-25%Fe (at.%), Al-30%Fe and Al-34.5%Fe alloys close to Al3Fe, Al5Fe2 and Al2Fe intermetallic phases have been discussed. The effect of process parameters on structural aspects and mechanical behaviour of Al-Fe intermetallics has been studied. The high melting intermetallics that are difficult to prepare by conventional processing technique are easily synthesized in nanocrystalline state with a homogeneous structure by mechanical means. In this process, we have come out with a single orthorhombic Al5Fe2 nanocrystalline intermetallic phase. Hardness measurements of intermetallic revealed an increase in hardness with a decreasing grain size up to a critical grain size, followed by a decrease. A decrease in hardness with a grain size refinement, an indication of softening behaviour, demonstrating the Inverse Hall-Petch (IHP)-like phenomenon has been observed in intermetallic compounds. The deviation from the regular Hall-Petch (HP) behaviour has been discussed using various deformation models based on the dislocations and grain boundary-mediated processes. The study is focused on investigations of Al-rich iron aluminide intermetallics to understand the structure property correlations

Powder Metallurgical Processing of Sn-Reinforced Al-Cu-Fe Quasicrystals: Structure, Microstructure and Toughening Behavior

The present work deals with powder metallurgical processing of Sn-reinforced Al-Cu-Fe icosahedral quasicrystalline (IQC) composites processed through mechanical milling (MM) followed by hot pressing and pressureless sintering. The structure, microstructure and toughening behavior of the nanocomposite powders and bulk samples were investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical metallography (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and indentation techniques. The XRD pattern suggested the coexistence of IQC and λ-Al13Fe4 (mC102; a = 1.549 nm, b = 0.808 nm, c = 1.248 nm) and B2-type Al (Cu, Fe) (cP2; a = 0.29 nm) crystalline phases in milled as well as sintered samples. The face-centered icosahedral (FCI) ordering was persistent even after 40 h of milling and sintering. The structural transformation during MM influences the indentation behavior of IQC-Sn nanocomposite powders, and the microhardness was found to be in the range of ~5.3 to 7.3 GPa. Further, efforts were made to study the indentation behavior of IQC-Sn composite prepared by pressureless sintering and hot pressing. The fracture toughness of the IQC-10Sn hot-pressed sample was found to be ~1.92 MPa.√m, which is ~22% higher than that of the as-cast and annealed IQC. The enhancement in the fracture toughness resulted mainly from the inhibition of cracks by Sn reinforcement particles. This suggests that powder metallurgical processing can produce the IQC-Sn composite with an optimal combination of microhardness and fracture toughness

Effect of Variation of SiC Reinforcement on Wear Behaviour of AZ91 Alloy Composites

In this investigation, the extensive wear behaviour of materials was studied using SiC reinforced magnesium alloy composites fabricated through the stir casting process. The wear properties of AZ91 alloy composites with a small variation (i.e., 3%, 6%, 9% and 12%) of SiC particulates were evaluated by varying the normal load with sliding velocity and sliding distance. The worn surfaces were examined by scanning electron microscope to predict the different wear mechanisms on the pin while sliding on the hard disk in the dry sliding wear test condition. The microhardness of the SiC reinforced AZ91 composites was found to be more than the un-reinforced AZ91 alloy. Pins tested at load 19.62 N, and 2.6 m/s exhibited a series of short cracks nearly perpendicular to the sliding direction. At higher speed and load, the oxidation and delamination were observed to be fully converted into adhesion wear. Abrasion, oxidation, and delamination wear mechanisms were generally dominant in lower sliding velocity and lower load region, while adhesion and thermal softening/melting were dominant in higher sliding velocity and loads. The wear rate and coefficient of friction of the SiC reinforced composites were lower than that of the unreinforced alloy. This is due to the fact of higher hardness exhibited by the composites. The wear behaviour at the velocity of 1.39 m/s was dominated by oxidation and delamination wear, whereas at the velocity of 2.6 m/s the wear behaviour was dominated by abrasion and adhesion wear. It was also found that the plastic deformation and smearing occurred at higher load and sliding velocity

The effect of Mn on the structural and magnetic behaviour of Fe–6Si–8B alloy produced by high energy ball milling

The alloys of Fe–6Si–8B and Fe–6Si–8B–1Mn were prepared using high energy planetary ball mill. X-ray diffraction patterns of the milled samples confirmed the formation of the alloys by dissolution of Si in Fe after 30 and 24 h of milling for the Fe–6Si–8B and Fe–6Si–8B–1Mn samples respectively. The lattice parameter was found to increase continuously with milling time and the rise was steeper for the quaternary alloy. After 36 h of milling, the crystallite size for the two samples were reduced to 98 and 86 nm respectively. Mossbauer spectra suggested the formation of minor amount of α-Fe2O3. The value of saturation magnetization was 162 Am2/kg for Fe–6Si–8B alloy obtained after 18 h of milling. However, the value decreased with increased milling time as well as with Mn-addition. The remanance value showed similar tendency as that for saturation magnetization. In contrast, the coercivity value was found to be increasing with milling time and with Mn-addition