Structural and microstructural study of Fe–31Cr–12Co mixture prepared by ball milling

Abstract

Nanostructured Fe–31Cr–12Co mixture was prepared by high energy ball milling (BM) of elemental Fe, Cr and Co powders. The obtained powders were characterized by X-rays diffraction (XRD) using Rietveld's method. The BM leads to the allotropic transformation of Co from FCC to HCP form during the first hour of milling and the formation of a disordered Fe(Cr, Co) solid solution (SS) with BCC structure after 12 h of milling. The microstructural analysis using the profile fitting shows the nanostructured character of the obtained powders. The diffraction line broadening of the SS is Miller indices dependent and is a consequence of anisotropy in size and strains.