Structural relaxation in Al(86)Mn(14) quasicrystal.

Calorimetric and Young's modulus measurements reveal that the as-spun Al(86)Mn(14) quasicrystal exhibits structural relaxation at temperatures well below the icosahedral-orthorhombic transition. The enthalpy of relaxation ~90 cal/mol and the Young's modulus increases by ~1%. The annealed samples upon heating show a reversible endothermic reaction of an elastic origin which reflects also in the appearance of loss modulus. The activation energies of relaxation range from 42 to 51 kcal/mol. The relaxation behaviors of the Al(86)Mn(14) quasicrystal are in many-ways very similar to those of glassy Al(50)Si(30)Mn(20) and Pd(77)Cu (6)Si(17).