Feuerbacher, M., Metzmacher, C., Wollgarten, M., Urban, K., Baufeld, B., Bartsch, M., Messerschmidt, U.
Dislocations and plastic deformation of quasicrystals
Materials Science & Engineering A 226-228, pp 943-949 (1997)
The results of experimental studies on the plastic mechanical behavior of single-quasicrystals of
Al-Pd-Mn at temperatures between 680 and 800°C are reviewed. The stress-strain curves are
characterized by a pronounced yield drop followed by a continuous decrease of the how stress with
increasing strain. The analysis of the microstructure of the deformed material and in-situ straining
experiments in the electron microscope show that plastic deformation is based on a dislocation
mechanism. The glide geometry of the dislocations can be derived from experiments in which the
six-dimensional Burgers vectors and the glide planes are determined. Measurements of the
thermodynamic deformation parameters, in particular, the activation volume and the activation
enthalpy, indicate that dislocation motion is thermally activated and controlled by localized
obstacles. These obstacles can be provided by Mackay-type clusters which form the basic
structural elements according to current structure models of icosahedral Al-Pd-Mn. The decrease of
the flow stress with increasing strain is explained as deformation softening caused by destruction of the structural and chemical order of the material by the motion of dislocations.
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