Microstructure of mechanically alloyed and hot-pressed Al5CuZr2

Abstract

Al3Zr has the highest melting temperature (1580°C) among the tri-aluminide intermetal1ics. When prepared by casting, Al3Zr forms in the tetragonal DO23 structure but by rapid quenching or by mechanical alloying (MA) it can also be prepared in the metastable cubic L12 structure. The L12 structure can be stabilized to at least 1300°C by the addition of copper and other elements. We report a TEM study of the microstructure of bulk Al5CuZr2 prepared by hot pressing mechanically alloyed powder.MA was performed in a Spex 800 mixer using a hardened steel container and balls and adding hexane as a surfactant. Between 1.4 and 2.4 wt.% of the hexane decomposed during MA and was incorporated into the alloy. The mechanically alloyed powders were degassed in vacuum at 900°C. They were compacted in a ram press at 900°C into fully dense samples having Vickers hardness of 1025. TEM specimens were prepared by mechanical grinding followed by ion milling at 120 K. TEM was performed on a Philips CM30 at 300kV.