COMPOSITE MATERIAL BASED ON A QUASI-CRYSTAL OF THE AL-CU-FE SYSTEM AND METHOD OF ITS PRODUCTION

Abstract

Material and power techniques for producing solid three-dimensional materials. In one aspect, a composite material is based on a quasicrystal powder of an AlCuFe system with a nickel binder, the composite material containing a reinforcing nickel lattice. In a second aspect, the composite material is obtained by applying a nickel coating to quasicrystal powder particles of an AlCuFe system. The quasicrystal powder can be treated in plasma to form a thin (10-20 nm) nickel coating on the surface of the powder particles. The treated powder, which is a dispersed composite material, can then be pressed at room temperature under quasi-hydrostatic conditions at a pressure of more than 1.5 GPa. In some aspects, the improved characteristics of the three-dimensional materials include providing three-dimensional fully dense composite quasicrystal materials with improved mechanical properties, a decreased coefficient of friction and increased resistance to mechanical wear, and creating additional possibilities for new technological applications.

Claims

1. Composite material based on quasi-crystalline powder of the AlCuFe system with a nickel binder, characterized in that it contains a reinforcing nickel lattice.

2. Method of preparing the composite material according to claim 1, comprising the steps of applying a nickel coating on particles of a powder of the quasi-crystal AlCuFe system, pressing the powder with a nickel coating at a pressure greater than 1.5 GPa and annealing of the pressed powder at a pressure below 100 MPa under a reducing or inert atmosphere or under vacuum at a temperature not higher than 850K.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the pressing of the powder is carried out at a pressure higher than 8 GPa.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the pressing of the powder is carried out at a pressure of less than 9 GPa.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that prior to pressing, the powder of the quasi-crystal with a nickel coating is annealed in a reducing atmosphere at a temperature of less than 770K.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that prior to pressing at high pressure, the powder of quasi-crystal with nickel coating is compacted under a pressure of not more than 0.7 GPa.

Description

EXAMPLE OF USE OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Production of three-dimensional fully dense composite materials with reduced coefficient of friction and increased resistance to mechanical wear from powders of dispersed composite materials on the basis of a quasi-crystal AlCuFe, the particles of which are coated with nickel nanocoverings, with application of high pressures of 8-9 GPa.

[0017] To produce a nickel coating on the quasi-crystalline powder particles, the powder was treated in a dust plasma using a magnetron sputter system. Powder of quasi-crystal AlCuFe with a particle size in the range of 0.5-20 p82 m is used. In order to purify the powder from adsorbed gaseous impurities, in the preparation stage of the experiment for 15 minutes the reactor with the powder contained therein was heated to 200 C. with simultaneous vacuum evacuation. The nickel coatings were sprayed onto the particles in argon atmosphere of the quality HP at a pressure of 0.4 Pa at a rate of 20 sccm. The deposition time was 40 minutes. At the end of the process, the powder consisting of coated particles was removed from the reactor under atmospheric conditions.

[0018] The plasma-treated powders were compressed in a high-pressure chamber at a pressure of 8 GPa at room temperature in a graphite container. Then, the obtained samples were annealed in hydrogen at atmospheric pressure. Quartz furnace was used for annealing. The annealing temperature was 823K, the annealing time was 40 minutes. After annealing, the samples were cooled in hydrogen together with the furnace to room temperature. Cylindrical composite samples with a height of 3 mm and a diameter of about 4 mm (FIG. 1) were obtained.

[0019] The microstructure of the samples was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In FIG. 2 is an shown an SEM image of the polished surface of the sample.

[0020] In FIG. 3, in a light tone, the distribution of nickel in the same area of the surface obtained in the mapping mode is highlighted. The signal from the characteristic radiation of the nickel is practically absent in polished sections of grains, but in all interlayers between grains it is detected. Thus, it can be seen that the nickel is distributed evenly over the surface of the particles.

[0021] The density of the samples was determined by the pycnometric method. The measured density of the samples was in the range 4.63-4.68 g/cm.sup.3, which corresponds to the maximum values of the density of quasi-crystals known from the literature.

[0022] An investigation of the elastic characteristics was carried out by a pulsed ultrasonic method at a frequency of 10 MHz. The mechanical properties of the samples were studied by the method of measuring indentation on a NanoHardness Tester with a load increase up to 30 mN, in nine measurements. The hardness of the samples ranges from 7 to 10 Gpa, which is characteristic of the block quasi-crystal, the young's Modulus is in the range of 130 to 150 GPa.

[0023] According to the above data, the obtained samples have a coefficient of friction over steel in the range of 0.05-0.15 and increased wear resistance.

[0024] Thus, by means of the developed method, full-density composite quasi-crystalline materials with high hardness, high modulus of elasticity, reduced coefficient of friction and increased resistance to mechanical wear are obtained.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

[0025] 1. Zbigniew M. Stadnik (Ed). Physical Properties of Quasicrystals. Springer Series in SOLID-STATE SCIENCES [0026] 2. J.-M Dubois, S. S. Kang and Y. Massiani. Application of quasi-crystalline alloys to surface coating of soft metals. Non-Crystalline Solids, 153 & 154, 443-4445, 1993. [0027] 3. J.-M Dubois, S. S. Kang and A. Perrot. Materials Science and Engineering, A 179/A180, 122-126, 1994. [0028] 4. Kaloshkin, S. D., Tcherdynsev, V. V., and Danilov, V. D., Preparation of AlCuFe quasicrystalline powdered alloys and related materials by mechanical activation, Crystallogr. Rep., 2007, vol. 52, no. 6, p. 953 [0029] 5. Petrozhik, M. I. and Levashov, E. A., Modern methods of investigating functional surfaces of advanced materials by mechanical contact testing, Crystallogr. Rep., 2007, vol. 52, no. 6, p. 966 [0030] 6. Patent: Preparation process for quasi-crystal particles reinforced magnesium base composite material CN 1306051 C [0031] 7. V. E. Fortov, H. Hora, A. S. Ivanov et al. Methode and Anordnung zur Herstellung dispergierter zusammengesetzter Materialien. Offenlegungsschrift DE 19832908 A1, 1998. [0032] 8. H. Kersten, P. Schmetz, G. M. W. Kroesen, Surface Modification of Powder Particles by Plasma Deposition. Surf. Coat. Technol. 108-109, 507, (1998) [0033] 9. A. S. Ivanov, V. S. Mitin, A. F. Pal, A. N. Ryabinkin, A. O. Serov, A. N. Starostin, Disperse composite materials with nanocoating (Ru.), Nanotechnika, 2008, No. 14, p. 21-25 [0034] 10. A. S. Ivanov, V. S. Mitin, A. F. Pal, A. N. Ryabinkin, A. O. Serov, E. A. Skryleva, A. N. Starostin, V. E. Fortov, Yu. M. Shchulga, Preparation of disperse composite materials in a dust plasma (Ru.), Doklady Akademii Nauk, 395, 3, 2004, 335-338. [0035] 11. A. S. Ivanov, A. F. Pal, A. N. Ryabinkin, A. O. Serov, E. A. Ekimov, A. V. Smirnov, A. N. Starostin., Application of dust plasma for the preparation of dispersed composite materials (Ru.), Ros. Khim., J. (J. Ros. Khim. Ob-va. im. D. I. Mendeleeva), 2013, vol. LVII, No. 3, P. 70-82. [0036] 12. Ivanov, A. S., Kruglov, V. S., Pal, A. F., et al., Synthesis and characterization of macrocomposites based on nickel coated quasicrystalline AlCuFe powder, Tech. Phys. Lett., 2011, vol. 37, no. 10, p. 917 [0037] 13. E. A. Ekimov, V. P. Sirotinkin, M. I. Petrzhik, E. L. Gromnitskaya, Sintering, structure, and physical properties of AlCuFe quasicrystals compacted at high pressure, Inorganic Materials, vol. 50, issue 1, pp. 52-57 [0038] 14. X. Jiang, Z. Chen, Y. Wang, D. Zhou, The crystalline to quasicrystalline phase transformation in rapidly solidified Al.sub.65Cu.sub.20Fe.sub.15 powder at high pressure and high temperature Scripta Metall. Mater., vol. 27, 1401-1403 (1992) [0039] 15. Yu. V. Milman, N. A. Efremov, S. V. Ul'shin, A. I. Bykov, O. D. Neikov, A. V. Samelyuk, Mechanical properties Of AlCuFe alloys sintered at high pressure. Powder Metallurgy and Metal Ceramics, vol. 49, 280-288 (2010)