On Discrete Hopf Fibrations, Grand Unification Groups, the Barnes-Wall, Leech Lattices, and Quasicrystals

A discrete Hopf fibration of S15 over S8 with S7 (unit octonions) as fibers leads to a 16D Polytope P16 with 4320 vertices obtained from the convex hull of the 16D Barnes-Wall lattice Λ16. It is argued (conjectured) how a subsequent 2-1 mapping (projection) of P16 onto a 8D-hyperplane might furnish the 2160 vertices of the uniform 241 polytope in 8-dimensions, and such that one can capture the chain sequence of polytopes 241,231,221,211in D=8,7,6,5dimensions, leading, respectively, to the sequence of Coxeter groups E8,E7,E6,SO(10)which are putative GUT group candidates. An embedding of the E8⊕E8and E8⊕E8⊕E8lattice into the Barnes-Wall Λ16 and Leech Λ24 lattices, respectively, is explicitly shown. From the 16D lattice E8⊕E8one can generate two separate families of Elser-Sloane 4D quasicrystals (QC’s) with H4 (icosahedral) symmetry via the “cut-and-project” method from 8D to 4D in each separate E8 lattice. Therefore, one obtains in this fashion the Cartesian product of two Elser-Sloane QC’s Q×Qspanning an 8D space. Similarly, from the 24D lattice E8⊕E8⊕E8one can generate the Cartesian product of three Elser-Sloane 4D quasicrystals (QC’s) Q×Q×Qwith H4 symmetry and spanning a 12D space.

Precipitation of multi-type nano-quasicrystals in a Mg-Zn-Y alloy

Mg-6Zn-1Y(at.%)ribbons with strengthening precipitates of multi-type nanoquasicrystals were prepared by melt-spinning followed by aging treatments.Microstructural evolution of the rapidly solidified ribbons during isothermal aging was comprehensively studied using various electron microscopy techniques.Two new kinds of decagonal quasicrystals were formed in aged ribbons,in addition to precipitation of nanometer icosahedral quasicrystals.Atomic-resolution observations reveal that both decagonal quasicrystals can be modeled by quasiperiodic tiling with decagonal clusters of 2.5 nm in diameter,but overlap of neighboring clusters in both decagonal quasicrystals is different from the Gummelt model observed in other quasicrystals.A shell composed of complex Laves Mg-Zn domains was formed surrounding each decagonal quasicrystal precipitate upon prolonged aging.In addition,all kinds of nanoprecipitates exhibit excellent structure and size stability at 573 K.Our findings may have implications for not only fundamental studies about quasicrystals,but also microstructural manipulation of high-performance Mg alloys.

A Dugdale-Barenblatt model for elliptical orifice problem with asymmetric cracks in one-dimensional orthorhombic quasicrystals

By means of Muskhelishvili’s method and the technique of generalized conformal mapping,the physical plane problems are transformed into regular mathematical problems in quasicrystals(QCs).The analytical solution to an elliptical orifice problem with asymmetric cracks in one-dimensional(1D)orthorhombic QCs is obtained.By using the Dugdale-Barenblatt model,the plastic simulation at the crack tip of the elliptical orifice with asymmetric cracks in 1D orthorhombic QCs is performed.Finally,the size of the atomic cohesive force zone is determined precisely,and the size of the atomic cohesive force zone around the crack tip of an elliptical orifice with a single crack or two symmetric cracks is obtained.

Elastic Field of a Straight Dislocation in One Dimensional Hexagonal Quasicrystals *L

Aim To study dislocation elasticity theory in quasicrystals. Methods A dislocation was separated into pure edge part and pure screw part and their superposition was used to find the elastic field. Results and Conclusion The elastic solution of a straight dislocation parallel to the quasiperiodic axis in 1D hexagonal quasicrystals was obtained and the generalized Peach Koehler force on a dislocation in quasicrystals was given.

Anti-plane Analysis of a Circular Hole withThree Unequal Cracks in One-dimensionalHexagonal Piezoelectric Quasicrystals

This paper employes variable function method and the technique of conformal mappingto discuss the anti-plane problem of a circular hole with three unequal cracksin a one-dimensional （1D） hexagonal piezoelectric quasicrystal. Based on the piezoelectricityfundamental equations of quasicrystal materials and the symmetry of1D hexagonal quasicrystal and its linear piezoelectricity effect, 1D hexagonal quasicrystalcontrol equations of anti-plane problem are derived. Applying Cauchyintegral formula, the analytical expressions for the crack tip filed intensity factorsare presented with the assumption that the crack are electrical impermeable andelectrical permeable. With the variation of the hole-size and the crack length, someof the new model of crack are obtained. In the absence of the electric load, theresults match with the classical ones. The numerical results indicate the effects ofgeometric parameters on the field intensity factors. It is verified that the horizontalcrack length and the circle radius can easily promote crack growth. Researchon such issues will provide reliable theoretical value for the engineering materialspreparation and application.

Anti-plane problem of nano-cracks emanating from a regular hexagonal nano-hole in one-dimensional hexagonal piezoelectric quasicrystals

By constructing a new conformal mapping function, we study the surface effects on six edge nano-cracks emanating from a regular hexagonal nano-hole in one-dimensional (1D) hexagonal piezoelectric quasicrystals under anti-plane shear. Based on the Gurtin–Murdoch surface/interface model and complex potential theory, the exact solutions of phonon field, phason field and electric field are obtained. The analytical solutions of the stress intensity factor of the phonon field, the stress intensity factor of the phason field, the electric displacement intensity factor and the energy release rate are given. The interaction effects of the nano-cracks and nano-hole on the stress intensity factor of the phonon field, the stress intensity factor of the phason field and the electric displacement intensity factor are discussed in numerical examples. It can be seen that the surface effect leads to the coupling of phonon field, phason field and electric field. With the decrease of cavity size, the influence of surface effect is more obvious.

The interaction between a screw dislocation and a wedge-shaped crack in one-dimensional hexagonal piezoelectric quasicrystals

Based on the fundamental equations of piezoelasticity of quasicrystal material,we investigated the interaction between a screw dislocation and a wedge-shaped crack in the piezoelectricity of one-dimensional hexagonal quasicrystals.Explicit analytical solutions are obtained for stress and electric displacement intensity factors of the crack,as well as the force on dislocation.The derivation is based on the conformal mapping method and the perturbation technique.The influences of the wedge angle and dislocation location on the image force are also discussed.The results obtained in this paper can be fully reduced to some special cases already available or deriving new ones.

A Dugdale-Barenblatt model for a strip with a semi-infinite crack embedded in decagonal quasicrystals

The present study is to determine the solution of a strip with a semi-infinite crack embedded in decagonal quasicrystals,which transforms a physically and mathematically daunting problem.Then cohesive forces are incorporated into a plastic strip in the elastic body for nonlinear deformation.By superposing the two linear elastic fields,one is evaluated with internal loadings and the other with cohesive forces,the problem is treated in Dugdale-Barenblatt manner.A simple but yet rigorous version of the complex analysis theory is employed here,which involves a conformal mapping technique.The analytical approach leads to the establishment of a few equations,which allows the exact calculation of the size of cohesive force zone and the most important physical quantity in crack theory：stress intensity factor.The analytical results of the present study may be used as the basis of fracture theory of decagonal quasicrystals.

Icosahedral quasicrystals solids with an elliptic hole under uniform heat flow

The complex variable method for solving the two-dimensional thermal stress problem of icosahedral quasicrystals is stated. The closed-form solutions for icosahedral quasicrystals containing an elliptical hole subjected to a remote uniform heat flow are obtained. When the hole degenerates into a crack, the explicit solutions for the stress intensity factors is presented.

Elliptic holes in octagonal quasicrystals

The stress potential function theory for the plane elasticity of octagonal quasicrystals is developed. By introducing stress functions, a large number of basic equations involving the elasticity of octagonal quasicrystals are reduced to a single partial differential equation. Furthermore, we develop the complex variable function method （Lekhnitskii method） for anisotropic elasticity theory to that for quasicrystals. With the help of conformal transformation, an exact solution for the elliptic hole of quasicrystals is presented. The solution of the Griffith crack problem, as a special case of the results, is obtained. As a consequence, the phonon stress intensity factor is derived analytically.

Finite size specimens with cracks of icosahedral Al Pd Mn quasicrystals

Icosahedral quasicrystals are the most important and thermodynamically stable in all about 200 kinds of quasicrystals currently observed. Beyond the scope of classical elasticity, apart from a phonon displacement field, there is a phason displacement field in the elasticity of the quasicrystal, which induces an important effect on the mechanical properties of the material and makes an analytical solution difficult to obtain. In this paper, a finite element algorithm for the static elasticity of icosahedral quasicrystals is developed by transforming the elastic boundary value problem of the icosahedral quasicrystals into an equivalent variational problem. Analytical and numerical solutions for an icosahedral A1-Pd-Mn quasicrystal cuboid subjected to a uniaxial tension with different phonon-phason coupling parameters are given to verify the validity of the numerical approach. A comparison between the analytical and numerical solutions of the specimen demonstrates the accuracy and efficiency of the present algorithm. Finally, in order to reveal the fracture behavior of the icosahedral A1-Pd-Mn quasicrystal, a cracked specimen with a finite size of matter is investigated, both with and without phonon-phason coupling. Meanwhile, the geometry factors are calculated, including the stress intensity factor and the crack opening displacement for the finite-size specimen. Computational results reveal the importance of pbonon-phason coupling effect on the icosahedral A1-Pd-Mn quasicrystal. Furthermore, the finite element procedure can be used to solve more complicated boundary value problems.

Decagonal and Dodecagonal Quasicrystals Obtained by Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Double-well potentials are used for molecular dynamics simulation in monatomic systems. The potentials change as their parameters are adjusted, resulting in different structures. Of particular interest, we obtain decagonal and dodecagonal quasicrystals by simulations. We also verify the results and explain the formation of quasicrystals from the perspective of potential energy.

Plane Elasticity and Dislocation of One-Dimensional Hexagonal Quasicrystals with Point Group 6

Plane elasticity theory of one-dimensional hexagonal quasicrystals with point group 6 is proposed and established. As an application of this theory, one typical example of dislocation problem in the quasicrystals is investigated and its exact analytic solution is presented. The result obtained indicates that the stress components of (elastic) fields of a straight dislocation in the quasicrystals still first order singularity, which is the same as the (general crystals,) but are related with the Burgers vector of phason fields, which is different from the general (crystals.)

General Solutions of Thermoelastic Plane Problems of Two-Dimensional Quasicrystals

The thermoelastic plane problems of two-dimensional decagonal quasicrystals(QCs)are systematically investigated.By introducing a displacement function,the problem of thermoelastic plane problems can be simplified to an eighth-order partial differential governing equation,and then general solutions are presented through an operator method.By virtue of the Almansi′s theorem,the general solutions are further established,and all expressions for the phonon,phason and thermal fields are described in terms of the potential functions.As an application of the general solution,for a steady point heat source in a semi-infinite quasicrystal plane,the closed form solutions are presented by four newly induced harmonic functions.

An Attempt to Prepare Metallic Glasses from Quasicrystals

Icosahedrons in supercooled liquids and glasses are considered to be of significance for the glass formation in alloy systems. Starting from the similarity of the local structure of quasicrystals to the icosahedrons in metallic glasses, a scheme is put forward to prepare metallic glasses based on a well-known quasicrystal Zr40Ti40Ni20. A series of （Zr4o Ti40Ni20 ）lOO-x Cos metallic glasses are fabricated, and the optimized glass forming composition is determined at （Zr40 Ti40Ni20 ）92 Cos. The results show that the glass-forming ability of the alloys is c10sely related to the quasicrystalline phases. The mechanism of the enhanced glass-forming ability is discussed.

Elastic analysis of an elliptic notch in quasicrystals of point group 10 subjected to shear loading

Based on the stress potential and complex variable function method, this paper makes an elastic analysis of an elliptic notch subjected to uniform shear stress at infinity in quasicrystals with point group 10. With the aid of conformal transformation, an exact solution for the elliptic notch of the quasicrystals is obtained. The solution of the mode II Griffith crack as a special case is constructed. The stress intensity factor and energy release rate have been also obtained as a direct result of the crack solution.

Evaluation of Some Fourier Integrals in N-Dimensional Space for the Theory of Dislocations in Quasicrystals

A method to evaluate some Fourier integrals is extended from two-dimensional (2-D) and three dimensional (3-D) spaces ton-dimensional (n-D) space, which are often used in the elasticity theory of dislocations in quasicrystals. Some key formulae have been given.

Quasilattice-Conserved Optimization of the Atomic Structure of Decagonal Al-Co-Ni Quasicrystals

The detailed atomic structure of quasicrystals has been an open problem for decades. Here we present a quasilattiee-conserved optimization method （quasi-OPT）, under particular quasiperiodic boundary conditions. As the atomic coordinates are described by basic cells and quasilattices, we are able to maintain the self-similarity characteristics of qusicrystals with the atomic structure of the boundary region updated timely following the relaxing region. Exemplified with the study of decagonal Al-Co-Ni （d-Al-Co-Ni）, we propose a more stable atomic structure model based on Penrose quasilattice and our quasi-OPT simulations. In particular, rectangle-triangle ruIes are suggested for the local atomic structures of d-Al-Co-Ni quasicrystals.

Comments on Quasicrystals

The discoveries of so-called quasicrystals have broken through the theoretic foundation set up by the classical crystallographic group theory since 1891 and proposed new topics for study of solid structures. Electron diffraction patterns (EDP' s) and high-resolution microscopic (HREM) images have proved invaluable tools of studying the structures of crystals. The recognition and determination of EDP's and HREM images of a real-structure play a key role for understanding the structure. This paper will introduce some new developments about crystallographic group theory and new image processing methods on EDP's and HREM images. Contrary to popular beliefs, the research shows that quasicrystals can be understood (perturbed) complex periodic structures.

Group-theoretical method for physical property tensors of quasicrystals

In addition to the phonon variable there is the phason variable in hydrodynamics for quasicrystals. These two kinds of hydrodynamic variables have different transformation properties. The phonon variable transforms under the vector representation, whereas the phason variable transforms under another related representation. Thus, a basis （or a set of basis functions） in the representation space should include such two kinds of variables. This makes it more difficult to determine the physical property tensors of quasicrystals. In this paper the group-theoretical method is given to determine the physical property tensors of quasicrystals. As an illustration of this method we calculate the third-order elasticity tensors of quasicrystals with five-fold symmetry by means of basis functions. It follows that the linear phonon elasticity is isotropic, but the nonlinear phonon elasticity is anisotropic for pentagonal quasicrystals. Meanwhile, the basis functions are constructed for all noncrystallographic point groups of quasicrystals.