Microstructural transformation of quasicrystalline AlFeCrTi extruded bars upon long thermal treatments

Bulk Al93Fe3Cr2Ti2 bars extruded from gas atomised powder particles present a microstructure of an aluminium matrix reinforced with a spherical nanoquasicrystalline phase. In this work the evolution of the microstructure of Al93Fe3Cr2Ti2 extruded bars upon heating at 400 °C for up to 1000 h is investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. According to our observations we propose that the quasicrystalline alloy evolves in two steps: a first step consists in the decomposition of the supersaturated solid solution of the matrix and the quasicrystals, and a second step in the transformation of the quasicrystals into the equilibrium phases.