Structural Evolutions of Al-Ni-Nd Alloy Prepared By Mechanical Alloying

Abstract

Al-based nanocrystalline materials with average crystalline size of a few nanometers have attracted considerable attention due to their attractive potential in structural application. The proposed study presents nanocrystalline Al₈₈Ni₈Nd₄ alloy powders is produced by high-energy planetary ball milling, starting from elemental powders. The milling was carried out at speed of 300 rpm with intervals of 20 min. milling and 20 min. rest to prevent the mixture from overheating. In order to study the structural evolutions and thermal behaviour of the mechanically alloyed powders, X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analyser (DTA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used. Results show that Al₃Ni intermetallic compound is obtained after 10 hours of milling. Increasing the milling time up to 100 h leads to the formation of Al₃Ni with 15 nm crystallite size. In the present investigation, structural evolution and thermal behaviour of Al₈₈Ni₈Nd₄ alloy prepared by mechanical alloying have been discussed in detail.

Keywords: Al-Ni-Nd Powder Alloys, Mechanical Alloying, Phase Evolutions, Nanogranular Particles.