Processing, microstructure and mechanical properties of W50Al50 bulk alloy obtained by mechanical alloying and hot-pressing

The Al50W50 alloy bulk bodies were fabricated by using mechanical alloying and hot-pressing in this work. The Al50W50 alloy had excellent thermal stability up to 1300 degreesC under vacuum and Its optimum microhardness, bending strength and compressive strength were 10.21 GPa, 570 MPa and 2.07 GPa, respectively.

Preparation of W-Al alloys by mechanical alloying

W1-xAlx (x=0-0.86) alloys were synthesized by mechanically alloying the pure metal powder mixtures at designated compositions by conventional high-energy ball milling. The W-Al alloys were stable under high pressure and high temperature. The alloys were lighter than W. The hardness and oxidation resistance of the alloys was greatly improved compared to both W and Al. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

EXTENDED SOLUBILITY AND SPIN-GLASS BEHAVIOR IN A AG-GD SOLID-SOLUTION PREPARED BY MECHANICAL ALLOYING

The effects of mechanical alloying on the solubility in a Ag-Gd solid solution have been investigated. The study shows that the solubility of Gd in Ag can be extended to about 5 at. % Gd by mechanical alloying from the equilibrium solubility of less than 0.95 at. % Gd. Ag85Gd15 prepared by mechanical alloying exhibits a spin-glass-type transition at similar to 5 K. A Curie-Weiss behavior at higher temperatures and x-ray patterns of the material indicate that Gd atoms are either dissolved in the Ag matrix or in the form of small clusters of diameters of a few nanometers;

Fabrication of Ti-Al coatings by mechanical alloying method

By means of the mechanical alloying (MA) method, Al and Ti + Al coatings were deposited on Ti alloy substrates. During the mechano-activation processing, the substrate surface was impacted by a large number of flying balls along with particles of powder. The repeated ball collisions with the substrate resulted in the deposition of powder on its surface. MA technique produced Ti + Al coating with a thickness of 200 µm and Al one with a thickness of 50 µm after 2 h milling at room temperature. The as-synthesized coatings showed structures with high apparent density and free of porosity. The surface morphology of the MA-coatings was very rough. Annealing treatment led to the leveling of this uneven morphology. Annealing at temperatures ranging between 600 °C and 1100 °C gave different aluminide phases on the samples. In the case of Al coating, Al3Ti and Ti3Al compound were observed upon heating up to 1100 °C. In the case of Ti + Al coating, Al3Ti, Al2Ti, TiAl and Ti3Al were formed on the surface.

Properties and in vivo investigation of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite obtained by mechanical alloying

Mechanical alloying has been used successfully to produce nanocrystalline powders of hydroxyapatite (HA) using three different procedures. The milled HA was studied by X-ray diffraction, Infrared, Raman scattering spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). We obtained HA with different degrees of crystallinity and time of milling. The grain size analysis through SEM and XRD shows particles with dimensions of 36.9, 14.3 and 35.5 nm (for (R1), (R2) and (R3), respectively) forming bigger units with dimensions given by 117.2, 110.8 and 154.4 nm (for (R1), (R2) and (R3), respectively). The Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis showed that an atomic ratio of Ca/P= 1.67, 1.83 and 1.50 for reactions (R1), (R2) and (R3), respectively. These results suggest that the R1 nanocrystalline ceramic is closer to the expected value for the ratio Ca/P for hydroxyapatite, which is 513 congruent to 1.67. The bioactivity analysis shows that all the samples implanted into the rabbits can be considered biocompatible, since they had been considered not toxic, bad not caused inflammation and reject on the part of the organisms of the animals, during the period of implantation. The samples implanted in rabbits had presented new osseous tissue formation with the presence of osteoblasts cells. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Processing and characterization of PbSnTe-based thermoelectric materials made by mechanical alloying

The research reported in this dissertation investigates the processes required to mechanically alloy Pb1-xSnxTe and AgSbTe2 and a method of combining these two end compounds to result in (y)(AgSbTe2)–(1 - y)(Pb1-xSnxTe) thermoelectric materials for power generation applications. In general, traditional melt processing of these alloys has employed high purity materials that are subjected to time and energy intensive processes that result in highly functional material that is not easily reproducible. This research reports the development of mechanical alloying processes using commercially available 99.9% pure elemental powders in order to provide a basis for the economical production of highly functional thermoelectric materials. Though there have been reports of high and low ZT materials fabricated by both melt alloying and mechanical alloying, the processing-structure-properties-performance relationship connecting how the material is made to its resulting functionality is poorly understood. This is particularly true for mechanically alloyed material, motivating an effort to investigate bulk material within the (y)(AgSbTe2)–(1 - y)(Pb1-xSnx- Te) system using the mechanical alloying method. This research adds to the body of knowledge concerning the way in which mechanical alloying can be used to efficiently produce high ZT thermoelectric materials. The processes required to mechanically alloy elemental powders to form Pb1-xSnxTe and AgSbTe2 and to subsequently consolidate the alloyed powder is described. The composition, phases present in the alloy, volume percent, size and spacing of the phases are reported. The room temperature electronic transport properties of electrical conductivity, carrier concentration and carrier mobility are reported for each alloy and the effect of the presence of any secondary phase on the electronic transport properties is described. An mechanical mixing approach for incorporating the end compounds to result in (y)(AgSbTe2)–(1-y)(Pb1-xSnxTe) is described and when 5 vol.% AgSbTe2 was incorporated was found to form a solid solution with the Pb1-xSnxTe phase. An initial attempt to change the carrier concentration of the Pb1-xSnxTe phase was made by adding excess Te and found that the carrier density of the alloys in this work are not sensitive to excess Te. It has been demonstrated using the processing techniques reported in this research that this material system, when appropriately doped, has the potential to perform as highly functional thermoelectric material.

Nano-engineering of composite material via reactive mechanical alloying/milling (RMA/M)

Attempts to strengthen a chromium-modified titanium trialuminide by a combination of grain size refinement and dispersoid strengthening led to a new means to synthesize such materials. This Reactive Mechanical Alloying/Milling process uses in situ reactions between the metallic powders and elements from a process control agent and/or a gaseous environment to assemble a dispersed small hard particle phase within the matrix by a bottom-up approach. In the current research milled powders of the trialuminide alloy along with titanium carbide were produced. The amount of the carbide can be varied widely with simple processing changes and in this case the milling process created trialuminide grain sizes and carbide particles that are the smallest known from such a process. Characterization of these materials required the development of x-ray diffraction means to determine particle sizes by deconvoluting and synthesizing components of the complex multiphase diffraction patterns and to carry out whole pattern analysis to analyze the diffuse scattering that developed from larger than usual highly defective grain boundary regions. These identified regions provide an important mass transport capability in the processing and not only facilitate the alloy development, but add to the understanding of the mechanical alloying process. Consolidation of the milled powder that consisted of small crystallites of the alloy and dispersed carbide particles two nanometers in size formed a unique, somewhat coarsened, microstructure producing an ultra-high strength solid material composed of the chromium-modified titanium trialuminide alloy matrix with small platelets of the complex carbides Ti2AlC and Ti3AlC2. This synthesis process provides the unique ability to nano-engineer a wide variety of composite materials, or special alloys, and has shown the ability to be extended to a wide variety of metallic materials.

Mechanical alloying of MoSi2 with ternary alloying elements. Part 1: Experimental

Phase evolution during the mechanical alloying of Mo and Si elemental powders with a ternary addition of Al, Mg, Ti or Zr was monitored using X-ray diffraction. Rietveld analysis was used to quantify the phase proportions. When Mo and Si are mechanically alloyed in the absence of a ternary element, the tetragonal C11b polymorph of MoSi2 (t-MoSi2) forms by a self-propagating combustion reaction. With additional milling, the tetragonal phase transforms to the hexagonal C40 structure (h-MoSi2). The mechanical alloying of Al, Mg and Ti additions with Mo and Si tend to promote a more rapid transformation of t-MoSi2 to h-MoSi2. In high concentrations, the addition of these ternary elements inhibits the initial combustion reaction, instead promoting the direct formation of h-MoSi2. The addition of Zr tends to stabilise the tetragonal phase.

Mechanical alloying of MoSi2 with ternary alloying elements. Part 2 - computer simulation

A computer model of the mechanical alloying process has been developed to simulate phase formation during the mechanical alloying of Mo and Si elemental powders with a ternary addition of Al, Mg, Ti or Zr. Using the Arhennius equation, the model balances the formation rates of the competing reactions that are observed during milling. These reactions include the formation of tetragonal C11(b) MOSi2 (t-MoSi2) by combustion, the formation of the hexagonal C40 MoSi2 polymorph (h-MoSi2), the transformation of the tetragonal to the hexagonal form, and the recovery of t-MoSi2 from h-MoSi2 and deformed t-MoSi2. The addition of the ternary additions changes the free energy of formation of the associated MoSi2 alloys, i.e. Mo(Si, Al)(2), Mo(Mg, Al)(2), (Mo, Ti)Si-2 (Mo, Zr)Si-2 and (Mo, Fe)Si-2, respectively. Variation of the energy of formation alone is sufficient for the simulation to accurately model the observed phase formation. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.