Synthesis of Al–Y–Ni–Co composites by mechanical alloying and consecutive spark-plasma sintering

Abstract

The mechanical alloying process of Al 85Y 8Ni 5Co 2 under low-energy ball milling was studied. Atomic mixing ends after 100 h of mechanical alloying where the final product is a composite consisting of Al nanograins embedded in an amorphous matrix. Consolidation of the dry-milled powder was performed by means of spark-plasma sintering and yielded relative density of the sintered compacts of about 97%. The influence of liquid hydrocarbons impurities (saturated and aromatic) on the mechanical alloying process was investigated. A small additive of toluene (1 wt.%) to the initial mixture resulted in a considerable improvement of the structure of the mechanically alloyed powder, possibly due to the presence of carbon impurities.