Effect of ball milling time on the microstructure and compressive properties of the Fe–Mn–Al porous steel

In the present work,Fe–Mn–Al–C powder mixtures were manufactured by elemental powders with different ball milling time,and the porous high-Mn and high-Al steel was fabricated by powder sintering.The results indicated that the powder size significantly decreased,and the morphology of the Fe powder tended to be increasingly flat as the milling time increased.However,the prolonged milling duration had limited impact on the phase transition of the powder mixture.The main phases of all the samples sintered at 640℃ were α-Fe,α-Mn and Al,and a small amount of Fe2Al5 and Al8Mn5.When the sintering temperature increased to 1200℃,the phase composition was mainly comprised of γ-Fe and α-Fe.The weight loss fraction of the sintered sample decreased with milling time,i.e.,8.3wt% after 20 h milling compared to15.3wt% for 10 h.The Mn depletion region(MDR) for the 10,15,and 20 h milled samples was about 780,600,and 370 μm,respectively.The total porosity of samples sintered at 640℃ decreased from ~46.6vol% for the 10 h milled powder to ~44.2vol% for 20 h milled powder.After sintering at 1200℃,the total porosity of sintered samples prepared by 10 and 20 h milled powder was ~58.3vol% and ~51.3vol%,respectively.The compressive strength and ductility of the 1200℃ sintered porous steel increased as the milling time increased.

Effect of milling atmosphere on structural and magnetic properties of Ni-Zn ferrite nanocrystalline

Powder mixtures of Zn, NiO, and Fe2O3 are mechanically alloyed by high energy ball milling to produce Ni-Zn ferrite with a nominal composition of Ni0.36Zn0.64Fe2O4. The effects of milling atmospheres （argon, air, and oxygen）, milling time （from 0 to 30 h） and heat treatment are studied. The products are characterized using x-ray diffractometry, field emission scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and transmitted electron microscopy. The results indicate that the desired ferrite is not produced during the milling in the samples milled under either air or oxygen atmospheres. In those samples milled under argon, however, Zn/NiO/Fe2O3 reacts with a solid-state diffusion mode to produce Ni-Zn ferrite nanocrystalline in a size of 8 nm after 30-h-milling. The average crystallite sizes decrease to 9 nm and 10 nm in 30-h-milling samples under air and oxygen atmospheres, respectively. Annealing the 30-h-milling samples at 600℃ for 2 h leads to the formation of a single phase of Ni-Zn ferrite, an increase of crystallite size, and a reduction of internal lattice strain. Finally, the effects of the milling atmosphere and heating temperature on the magnetic properties of the 30-h-milling samples are investigated.

Photocatalytic Activity of TiO_(2) Coatings Fabricated on Al_(2)O_(3) by Mechanical Coating Technique

The titanium coatings were prepared on Al_(2)O_(3) balls by mechanical coating technique (MCT),and then the coatings were oxidized to titanium oxides(TiO_(2)) films at 300-600 ℃.The effects of different milling time and oxidation temperature on thickness of films were studied.The composition and microstructure of the films were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS).The results show that the thickest coatings with an average thickness of 20 μm were obtained at the milling time of 15 h.In addition,with the increase of the oxidation temperature,the oxidation of the film is increased.When the milling time is 15 h,the oxidation temperature is 500 ℃,and the addition of photocatalyst is 1 g/mL.The films have the best photocatalytic performance when the degradation rate of methyl orange solution reaches the maximum value of 74.9 %,and the films have a good reusability.

Mineralogical and Active Mechanical Excitation Characteristics of Filled Fly Ash Cementitious Materials

To reveal the influence of mechanical activation on the performance of fly ash, the microanalysis（the energy spectroscopy, XRD and SEM）, the distribution size of particle of fly ash and cement paste intensity of various age for different grinding time were studied. The relationships of the activity and the composition of fly ash, microstructure and the distribution of particle size by mechanical activation of fly ash were obtained. The internal glass beads with activity were released by grinding fly ash for a certain time. The particle specific surface area was improved and the hydration reaction of the interface and the surface active center was increased by grinding. The granularity distributing of fly-ash trended towards optimization. The polar molecules or ions were easier to intrude into the internal cavity of the vitreous body. The active silica and alumina of fly ash were rapidly depolymerized. Each performance index of fly ash was increased before grinding for 20 min. Cement paste intensity of various age increased along with the grinding time, and the early strength increase range was big, but the later period intensity increase range hastened slightly. The internal part of vitreous of fly ash was destroyed if the fly ash continued to be ground and the activity of fly ash was reduced. It is suggested that Guozhuang＇s fly ash should be ground for 20 min.

High-performance martensitic stainless steel nanocomposite powder for direct energy deposition prepared by ball milling

Direct energy deposition(DED)has great potential for the production of stainless steel matrix nanocomposite parts.However,the propensity of nanoparticle agglomeration leads to the difficulty in realizing homogenous dispersion of nanoparticles in the matrix.In this study,a series of agglomeration-free nanoWC-Co-reinforced 420 stainless steel matrix nanocomposite powders with high flowability were prepared by ball milling under the optimal parameters.The effect of ball milling time on the properties of the composite powders was investigated.Excellent powder properties ensure the DED processing performance.Furthermore,the corresponding composites were fabricated by DED,and the effects of nano-WC-Co content on the properties of the composites were comprehensively investigated.The contact angles between the single pass cladding layer and the substrate change with increasing nano-WC-Co content(decrease from 127.38°to 113.07°).The different contact angles will significantly influence the quality of the multipass cladding layer.Furthermore,the addition of nanoWC-Co leads not only to further grain refinement but also to more pronounced isotropy of the micros tructure.With the increase in nano-WC-Co content,the corrosion resistance is significantly improved(62.28%lower corrosion current for 420-15 wt%nano-WC-Co than for 420).

An investigation on electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of Mg-Y-Ni alloys prepared by mechanical milling

Abstract： The nanocrystalline and amorphous Mg2Ni-type electrode alloys with a composition of Mg20-xYxNi10 （x=0, 1, 2, 3 and 4） were fabricated by mechanical milling. Effects of Y content on the structures and electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of the alloys were investigated in detail. The inspections of X-ray diffraction （XRD）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM） revealed that the substitution of Y for Mg brought on an obvious change in the phase composition of the alloys. The substitution of Y for Mg resulted in the formation of secondary YMgNi4 phases without altering the major phase Mg2Ni when Y content x≤1. But with the further increase of Y content, the major phase of the alloys changed into YMgNi4 phase. In addition, such substitution facilitated the glass forming of the Mg2Ni-type alloy. The discharge capacities of the as-milled alloys had the maximum values with Y content varying, but Y content with which the alloy yielded thc biggest discharge capacity was changeable with milling time varying. The substitution of Y for Mg had an insignificant effect on the activation ability of the alloys, but it dramatically improved the cycle stability of the as-milled alloys. The effect of Y content on the electrochemical kinetics of the alloys was related to milling time. When milling time was 10 h, the high rate discharge ability （HRD）, diffusion coefficient of hydrogen atom （D） and charge transfer rate all had the maximum value with Y content increasing, but they always decreased in the same condition when milling time increased to 70 h.

Effect of Replacing Vanadium by Niobium and Iron on the Tribological Behavior of HIPed Titanium Alloys

This study aims to examine the effect of replacing vanadium by niobium and iron on the tribological behavior of hot-isostatic-pressed titanium alloy （Ti-6Al-4V） biomaterial, using a ball-on-disk-type oscillating tribometer, under wet conditions using physiological solution in accordance with the ISO7148 standards. The tests were carried out under a normal load of 6 N, with an AISI 52100 grade steel ball as a counter face. The morphological changes and structural evolution of the nanoparticle powders using different milling times （2, 6, 12 and 18 h） were studied. The morphological characterization indicated that the particle and crystallite size continuously decrease with increasing milling time to reach the lowest value of 4 nm at 18-h milling. The friction coefficient and wear rate were lower in the samples milled at 18 h （0.226, 0.297 and 0.423; and 0.66 × 10-2, 0.87 × 10-2 and 1.51 × 10-2 μm3 N-1 i, tm-1） for Ti-6Al-4Fe, Ti-6A1-7Nb and Ti-6Al-4V, respectively. This improvement in friction and wear resistance is attributed to the grain refinement at 18-h milling. The Ti-6Al-4Fe samples showed good tribological performance for all milling times.

Properties of Mechanically Milled Nanocrystalline and Amorphous Mg–Y–Ni Electrode Alloys for Ni–MH Batteries

Nanocrystalline and amorphous Mg2Ni-type Mg20-xYxNi10（x = 0,1,2,3 and 4） electrode alloys were fabricated using mechanical milling.The effects of the Y content and milling time on the microstructures and electrochemical performances of the alloys were investigated in detail.X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed that the substitution of Y for Mg yields an obvious change in the phase composition and micro morphology of the alloys.When the Y content x ≤ 1,the substitution of Y for Mg does not change the major phase Mg2 Ni,but with a further increase in the Y content,the major phase of the alloys transforms into the YMg Ni4 YMg3 phase.A nanocrystalline and amorphous structure can be obtained by mechanical milling,and the amorphisation degree of the alloy visibly increases with increased milling time.Electrochemical measurements indicate that the discharge capacity of the alloys first increases and then decreases with increasing Y content and milling time.The substitution of Y for Mg dramatically ameliorates the cycle stability of the as-milled alloys,and the mechanical milling more or less impairs the cycle stability of the alloys.Furthermore,the high rate discharge ability,electrochemical impedance spectrum,Tafel polarisation curves and potential step measurements indicate that the electrochemical kinetic properties of the as-milled alloys first increase and then decrease with increasing Y content and milling time.