Cleaved surface of i-AlPdMn quasicrystals: Influence of the local temperature elevation at the crack tip on the fracture surface roughness

Laurent Ponson (1) , Daniel Bonamy (1) , Luc Barbier (1)

1 SPCSI - Service de Physique et de Chimie des Surfaces et Interfaces

Roughness of i-AlPdMn cleaved surfaces are presently analysed. From the atomic scale to 2-3 nm, they are shown to exhibit scaling properties hiding the cluster (0.45 nm) aperiodic structure. These properties are quantitatively similar to those observed on various disordered materials, albeit on other ranges of length scales. These properties are interpreted as the signature of damage mechanisms occurring within a 2-3 nm wide zone at the crack tip. The size of this process zone finds its origin in the local temperature elevation at the crack tip. For the very first time, this effect is reported to be responsible for a transition from a perfectly brittle behavior to a nanoductile one.

Mots clés: Quasicrystals; cleavage; fracture surfaces; fractal cracks

Domaines: Mécanique statistique [cond-mat.stat-mech]; Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Laurent Ponson, Daniel Bonamy, Luc Barbier. Cleaved surface of i-AlPdMn quasicrystals: Influence of the local temperature elevation at the crack tip on the fracture surface roughness. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (1998-2015), 2006, 74 (18), pp.184205. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.74.184205⟩. ⟨hal-00093858v2⟩