Milling maps for phase identification during mechanical alloying

Abstract

Mechanical alloying (MA), a high-energy ball milling technique, has been employed to produce oxidedispersion-strengthened nickel and iron-base superalloys since the 1960's [1,2]. In recent years, use of this solid-state powder processing technique has been extended to the synthesis of a variety of stable and metastable phases (supersaturated solid solutions, crystalline and quasicrystalline intermediate phases and metallic glasses) starting from either blended elemental or pre-alloyed powders [3-5]. Since the MA process involves repeated welding, fracturing and rewelding operations leading to microstructural refinement [6], the amount of mechanical energy input is a critical parameter in determining the constitution of the final product [7].