The Alloying Strategy to Tailor the Mechanical Properties of θ-Al<sub>13</sub>Fe<sub>4</sub> Phase in Al-Mg-Fe Alloy by First-Principles Calculations

oleh: Qianli Liu, Hao Zhang, Peng Jiang, Yifan Lv

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-11-01

Deskripsi

As an important strengthening phase in Al-Mg-Fe alloy, the elastic and ductile–brittle characteristics of Al<sub>13</sub>Fe<sub>4</sub> intermetallics hold prime significance in ascertaining the mechanical properties and potential application of Al-Mg-Fe alloys. In this study, multialloying of Co, Cu, Cr, Mn, and Ni has been adopted for tuning the mechanical characteristics of the Al<sub>13</sub>Fe<sub>4</sub> phase; their effects on mechanical features and electronic structure of the Al<sub>13</sub>Fe<sub>4</sub> phase have been scrutinized systematically by first-principles calculations employing the density functional theory. The replacement of Fe with M (M = Co, Cu, Cr, Mn, and Ni) is energetically advantageous at 0 K, as evidenced by the negative cohesive energy and mixing enthalpy of all Al<sub>13</sub>(Fe,M)<sub>4</sub> phases. Cu and Ni, on the contrary, have a detrimental impact on Al<sub>13</sub>Fe<sub>4′</sub>s modulus and hardness due to the evolution of chemical bonding strength. Co, Cr, and Mn are thus, interesting candidate elements. In the light of <i>B</i>/<i>G</i> and Poisson’s ratio (<i>σ</i>) criteria, Al<sub>13</sub>Fe<sub>4</sub>, Al<sub>13</sub>(Fe,Cu)<sub>4</sub>, and Al<sub>13</sub>(Fe,Ni)<sub>4</sub> have superior ductility; however, Al<sub>13</sub>(Fe,Co), Al<sub>13</sub>(Fe,Mn), and Al<sub>13</sub>(Fe,Cr)<sub>4</sub> tend to be brittle materials. Calculation-based findings show that Co, Cr, and Mn are appropriate alloying elements for enhancing fracture toughness, whereas Mn reduces Al<sub>13</sub>Fe<sub>4′</sub>s elastic anisotropy. The electronic structure assessment found that the mechanical properties of the intermetallics are predominantly influenced by the Al-M bonds when the alloying element M replaced Fe.