FP-LAPW investigation of Al3(Sc1−xTix) alloys properties in L12 and D022 structures

Abstract

The ab-initio calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT) have been performed to study the structural, mechanical, electronic, thermal and thermodynamic properties of Al3Sc and Al3Ti binary compounds and their ternary mixture Al3(Sc[Formula: see text]Ti[Formula: see text]) in L12 and D0[Formula: see text] structures. The total energy calculations show that the L12 structure is the more stable one. The Al3Sc[Formula: see text]Ti[Formula: see text] undergoes a martensitic transformation and the formation enthalpies and the lattice parameters decrease with increasing concentration x. The elastic constants are determined and the results show that all compounds are mechanically stable and the cubic cells are more easily deformed by shearing than by unidirectional compression. The elastic modulus indicates that the addition of Ti atoms to Al3Sc improves its ductility. The densities of states (DOSs) calculations show the strong spd hybridization which leads to the formation of a pseudo-gap near the Fermi level in ternary alloys. The densities of states at the Fermi level N(E[Formula: see text]) confirm the phase stability. The quasi-harmonic Debye model is used to predict the thermal properties such as heat capacity, Debye temperature, Grüneisen parameter and thermal expansion coefficient of the considered alloys. The determination of Gibbs free mixing energy at different concentrations has been used to calculate the T–x diagram.