Nickel aluminide, intermetallic compound Ni3Al, is a promising structural material on account of its high strength at elevated temperatures. The influence of cold deformation on the tensile behaviour of an Ni3Al alloy containing zirconium and boron is presented. The undeformed material, in the as-cast condition, was subjected to varying levels of cold deformation ranging from 11.4%–61.4%, and tensile tests performed. The tensile properties and fracture behaviour of the cold-deformed material are compared with undeformed material to highlight the influence of cold deformation on strength, ductility and fracture behaviour. Tensile tests were performed on cold-deformed plus annealed samples and properties compared with the cold-deformed counterpart in order to elucidate the influence of annealing on tensile behaviour. The intrinsic effects of cold deformation and annealing on microstructure, tensile properties and fracture behaviour are highlighted.
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