Fabrication and properties of Ti–Zr–Ni quasicrystal and bulk composite materials by high pressure sintering

• The bulk composite materials (BCMs) have been fabricated by high pressure sintering.
• The size of the BCM is about 10 mm in diameter and 3 mm in height.
• The optimum sintered condition is 3.0 GPa-600 °C.
• The performances of BCM can be controlled by the values of pressure and temperature.
• A promise in practical fabrication of BCM with I-phase may be developed.

The overall composition of Ti40.83Zr40.83Ni18.34 quasicrystal powders that consist of the stable icosahedral phase (I-phase) was prepared by mechanical alloying and the subsequent heat treatment in a vacuum furnace. Then, bulk composite materials (BCMs) with the composition of Ti40.83Zr40.83Ni18.34 I-phase quasicrystal powders and carbonyl nickel powders as metal bonding agent (20 wt.%), have been fabricated by high pressure sintering. The Vickers hardness, compressive strength, deformation at fracture, Young's modulus, and wear resistance of the BCMs have been studied in detail, after being sintered at different pressure and temperature. It indicates that high pressure sintering enables us to produce the BCMs (about 10 mm in diameter and 3 mm in height) with a short sintered time of 10 min and high pressure of 3.0 GPa. In addition, the optimum sintered condition is 3.0 GPa-600 °C, which is beneficial of the improvement of the performances of BCM, such as the Vickers hardness of 389, the compressive strength of 430 MPa, the deformation at fracture of 2.20%, the Young's modulus of 19 GPa, the lowest value of friction coefficient at 0.45 ± 0.13, and wear mass losses of 0.24 mm3. This work shows a promise in practical fabrication of BCM that consist of the stable Ti–Zr–Ni icosahedral quasicrystalline phase may be developed.