Phase diagram studies of Ti–Zr–Ni alloys containing less than 40 at.% Ni and estimated critical cooling rate for icosahedral quasicrystal formation from the liquid

A detailed phase diagram study of Ti–Zr–Ni alloys has been conducted using conventional X-ray scattering, microstructural and thermal annealing, and levitation techniques, to improve on the existing phase diagram. Various phases, such as simple crystalline, approximant, icosahedral quasicrystalline, and complex polytetrahedral phases, have been identified. A eutectic composition has been found near 21 at.% Ni for nearly equal Ti and Zr concentrations. From containerless processing studies, using electrostatic levitation, the phase boundary of the icosahedral quasicrystal (i-phase) is placed between 29 and 45 at.% Ti with 21 at.% Ni. A first-time estimate of the critical cooling rate for the formation of the i-phase directly from the liquid in alloys with 21 at.% Ni is less than 100 °C s−1, which is much smaller than for most of the known metastable quasicrystals.