Effects of stoichiometry, microalloying and aging heat treatments on the compressive behavior of NiAl alloys

Although a significant number of studies has been carried out on NW-based intermetallics (B2-type crystal structure) (1,2), the specific contributions of solid solution hardening, precipitation strength- ening and stoichiometry to NiAl strength and ductility have not yet been specified in detail. It has been realised that the mechanical properties of NiAl are very sensitive to the initial purity of raw materials, processing characteristics and thermal history (1, 2), and in most cases there is only an empirical knowledge of the desired properties..