Peculiarities of the structure and properties of quasicrystalline Al–Cu–Fe coatings produced by EBPVD process

Abstract

The effect of both composition and substrate temperature on the structure and properties of quasicrystalline Al–Cu–Fe coatings obtained by high-rate (˜100 nm s⁻¹) electron beam physical vapour deposition (EBPVD) was studied. An icosahedral phase has been observed in thick coatings in a much wider concentration range compared with in cast alloys. A lowering of substrate temperature results in a decrease of grain size of the quasicrystalline coating (down to nanosized scale) and an increase of the concentration of vacancy-type defects in the quasicrystalline structure. The features of the quasicrystalline structure of the coatings are shown to have an influence on their mechanical behaviour at both static and alternate loadings.