First-principles study of Ni-Al intermetallic compounds under various temperature and pressure

Abstract

The pressure dependence behaviors of structural and mechanical properties as well as the effect of temperature on thermodynamic properties of Ni-Al ordered intermetallic compounds (i. e. Ni3Al, Ni5Al3, NiAl, Ni2Al3 and NiAl3) are investigated in details by implementing first-principles calculations. The calculated lattice parameters, bulk modulus and its pressure derivative are well in agreement with available experimental and theoretical values at zero pressure. All the compounds are mechanically stable with pressure going up to 50 GPa, and the volume change resistance of nickel aluminum alloys can be improved by increasing pressure and Ni concentration. The shear deformation resistance, elastic stiffness and microhardness of nickel aluminum alloys can be strengthened by increasing the content of Ni5Al3 and Ni2Al3, and pressure can also enhance these properties of Ni5Al3, NiAl and Ni2Al3. The ductility of Ni3Al, Ni5Al3 and NiAl can be improved by increasing pressure, while brittle nature turns into ductile nature in 20–30 GPa and 10–20 GPa for Ni2Al3 and NiAl3, respectively. Furthermore, the elastic anisotropy of Ni3Al, Ni5Al3, Ni2Al3 and NiAl3 enhances with pressure, while NiAl shows few change with pressure increasing. In addition, Ni3Al is the most sensitive to pressure change among considered compounds. Finally, the Debye temperature, linear thermal expansion coefficient and heat capacity of these compounds are calculated using the quasi-harmonic Debye model in pressure ranging from 0 to 50 GPa and temperature ranging from 0 to 1200 K to elucidate the relationships between thermodynamic parameters and temperature under various pressure. The results are helpful insights into the study of nickel aluminum alloys.