The deformation behavior of DyCu ductile intermetallic compound under compression

In this study polycrystalline specimens of as-cast DyCu with B2 crystal structure were compressed to different strains at room temperature to test if stress-induced phase transformation and twinning occur during deformation. In these tests DyCu exhibited high ductility with plastic strain as high as 35% and ultimate compressive strength of ∼790 MPa. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed no indications that DyCu had undergone stress-induced phase transformation or twinning. 〈1 1 1〉-type dislocations have been observed to play an important role for imparting the ductile behavior. TEM analyses showed the presence of second phases, Dy2O3 and DyCu2 within the DyCu. The mechanisms of ductility and impurity phase formation are discussed.