Grain growth and phason-strain field in quasicrystalline Al-Li-Cu

• DOI: 10.1007/s100510050033
• Publication Date: 2003-05-15T12:57:07Z
• Authors: K. Wang; P. Donnadieu; P. Garoche
• Keywords: 0103 physical sciences; 01 natural sciences

We report on grain growth and related structure change in single phased Al-Li-Cu quasicrystals. The icosahedral phase grains have been investigated using scanning ion microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Regular boundaries between large grains have been observed both before and after high temperature annealing. The electron diffraction study shows that the grain growth is accompanied by a reduction of the phason-strains. The orientation relation between grains sets the 2-fold icosahedral axes parallel, and the coincidence of the planes depends on the phason strain-field. The effect of phason-strain field on these boundaries is discussed. It is proposed that the phason strain elimination can play a role in the grain growth.