Deformation Characteristics of Quasicrystalline Al–Cu–Fe Alloys

The deformation characteristics of icosahedral Al–Cu–Fe quasicrystals were determined by high temperature creep experiments between 680 and 720 °C and 15 and 41 MPa. The deformation process was determined to be controlled by grain boundary mechanisms. Both the stress and grain size sensitivity exponents were found to be 2, suggesting that grain boundary sliding was the rate-controlling deformation mechanism. Microstructural analysis supported this conclusion, as no intragranular defects were produced during the deformation experiments.