Effect of Milling Conditions on the Microstructural Design in Aluminum Based Alloy Fabricated by SPS

Abstract

In this work, aluminum-based alloys were mechanically alloyed by various doping elements followed by spark plasma sintering. Three different mixing methods were studied. First, all elemental powders were mixed for 24 h. In the second and the third method, powders were divided into three groups, and each group was milled separately for different times. Then the obtained mixtures were grouped together and again milled for 12 and 24 h, for the M2 and M3 mixtures, respectively. The influence of milling parameters on the microstructural features of sintered samples was determined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy system. The correlation observed between the milling time and microstructural evolution of the powder particles during the milling process was to determine the optimal process parameters. For the first time, the present research has demonstrated the effectiveness of the milling process for the preparation of tailored mixtures of metallic powders, enabling microstructural characteristics that could be favorable for the formation of secondary structures on the tribosurfaces.

Keywords

• al-sn-pb alloy
• mechanical alloying
• spark plasma sintering
• sem-edx
• microstructure