Mechanical and Thermophysical Properties of ScM (M: Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag) Intermetallics

In this paper, we have investigated the elastic, mechanical, ultrasonic, and thermophysical properties of B2 structured scandium based intermetallic compounds ScM (M = Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag) at 300 K. Initially, the elastic constants were determined under potential model approach considering the interaction up to second nearest neighbors defined by Coulomb and Born–Mayer potential. The second order elastic constants (SOECs) were used to find the mechanical parameters such as shear modulus, bulk modulus, Poisson’s ratio, Young’s modulus, Pugh’s indicator, Zener ratio, Vicker’s hardness, Cauchy’s pressure, and Lame modulus in ScM intermetallic compounds. Further, SOECs were applied to compute the ultrasonic velocities and Debye velocity for wave transmission through ScM along ⟨100⟩ orientation. We have also evaluated thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, melting point, and thermal relaxation time of the chosen compounds. Finally, the ultrasonic attenuation was estimated using thermo-elastic relaxation and phonon–phonon interaction mechanisms at room temperature. The mechanical properties of ScM were discussed and analyzed on the basis of obtained elastic constants while their ultrasonic properties were discussed in connection with elastic and thermal properties.