Effect of the Partial Substitution of V for Nb on the Magnetic Properties of Fe-based Nanocrystalline Alloy

The variation of the magnetic properties of the nanocrystalline alloys for the partial substitution of V for Nb with crystallizing treatment temperature and time was investigated. The variation law of the magnetic properties with the annealing temperature and time is essentially the same. The magnetic properties of the Fe-based nanocrystalline alloys for the partial substitution of V for Nb reduce, and the crystallizing treatment temperature of the alloys increases. The optimum properties of Fe74Cu1Nb3Si13B9 nanocrystalline alloys crystallized at 550℃x60 min are μ0=9.2xl0^4, μm=54.8xl0^4, Hc=1.14 A/m and Bs=1.26 T. The best properties for Fe74Cu1Nb3Si13B9 alloys annealed at 560℃x60 min are μ0=8.79x10^4, μm=50.18xl0^4, Hc=1.26 A/m and Bs=1.24 T.

Formation of nanocrystalline AZ31B Mg alloys via cryogenic rotary swaging

A bulk nanocrystalline AZ31B Mg alloy with extraordinarily high strength was prepared via cryogenic rotary swaging in this study.The obtained alloy shows finer grains,higher strength,and a negligible tension-compression yield asymmetry,compared with that prepared via room-temperature rotary swaging.Transmission electron microscopy investigations showed that at the initial stage,multiple twins,mostly tension twins,were activated and intersected with each other,thereby refining the coarse grains into a fine lamellar structure.Then,two types of nanoscale subgrains were generated with increasing swaging strain.The first type of nanoscale subgrain contained twin boundaries and low-angle grain boundaries.This type of subgrain appeared at the twin-twin intersections and was mainly driven by high local stress.The second type of nanoscale subgrain was formed within the twin lamellae.The boundaries of this type of subgrain did not contain twin boundaries and were transformed from massive dislocation arrays.Finally,randomly oriented nanograins were obtained via dynamic recrystallization,under the combined function of deformation heat and increased stored energy.Compared with room-temperature rotary swaging,cryogenic rotary swaging exhibits a slower grain refinement process but a remarkably enhanced grain refinement effect after the same five-pass swaging.

Formation and crystallization behavior of Fe-based amorphous precursors with pre-existingα-Fe nanoparticles-Structure and magnetic properties of high-Cu-content Fe-Si-B-Cu-Nb nanocrystalline alloys

Structure,crystallization behavior,and magnetic properties of as-quenched and annealed Fe_(81.3)Si_(4)O_(13)Cu_(1.7)(Cu1.7)alloy ribbons and effects of Nb alloying have been studied.Three-dimensional atom probe and transmission electron microscopy analyses reveal that high-number-density Cu-clusters and Pre-existing Nano-sized a-Fe Particles(PN-a-Fe)are coexistence in the melt-spun Cu1.7 amorphous matrix,and the PN-α-Fe form by manners of one-direction adjoining and enveloping the Cu-clusters.Two-step crystallization behavior associated with growth of the PN-a-Fe and subsequent nucleation and growth of newly-formedα-Fe is found in the primary crystallization stage of the Cu1.7 alloy.The number densities of the Cu-clusters and PN-a-Fe in melt-spun Fe8_(1.3-x)Si_(4)B_(13)Cu_(1.7)Nb_(x)alloys are gradually reduced with enriching of Nb,and a fully amorphous structure forms at 4 at.%Nb,although smaller Cu-clusters still exist.After annealing,2 at.%Nb coarsens the average size(D_(α-F)e)of theα-Fe grains from 14.0 nm of the Nb-free alloy to 21.6 nm,and 4 at.%Nb refines the D_(α-Fe)to 8.9 nm.The mechanisms of theα-Fe nucleation and growth during quenching and annealing for the alloys with large quantities of PN-α-Fe as well as after Nb alloying have been discussed,and an annealing-induced oc-Fe growth mechanism in term of the barrier co-contributed by competitive growth among the PN-a-Fe and diffusion-suppression effect of Nb atoms has been proposed.A coercivity(HC)αDα-Fe^(3)correlation has been found for the nanocrystalline alloys,and the permeability is inverse with the H_(C).

Microstructure,magnetic domain and dynamic loss of surface-textured Fe-based nanocrystalline alloy

Heterogeneous coarse surface crystallites induced in the industrial Fe-rich nanocrystalline alloy is an obstacle for high-frequency and high-power commercial applications.Herein,the phase,crystal orientation,nanostructure and magnetic domain evolution of the surface-crystallized Fe-rich alloy were systematically investigated.Microstructure and inverse pole figures analysis confirms that the DOordered dendriticcrystallites bear<001>-oriented fiber texture before and after annealing at the free surface,while ultrafine nanocrystals are randomly oriented in the interior and wheel surface after annealing.As compared to zero magnetic-field-annealing,the transverse magnetic-field-annealing induces weakly oriented fiber texture and relatively uniform dendritic-crystallites at the surface,and uniform anisotropy in the interior and surface,which promotes smooth wall motion at the surface and magnetization rotation in the interior.This synergetic effect reduces the excess loss and leads reduction in dynamic loss at 1.0 T and10 kHz by 36%.

Direct synthesis of Fe-Si-B-C-Cu nanocrystalline alloys with superior soft magnetic properties and ductile by melt-spinning

Structure,magnetic properties and ductile of melt-spun Fe_(83-x)Si_(4)B_(13-y)C_(y)Cu_(x)(x=0-1.7;y=0-8)alloys were investigated.The addition of 1.7 at.%Cu in a Fe_(83)Si_(4)B_(13) amorphous alloy generates abundantα-Fe crystals by providing nucleation sites,and further C doping promotes the growth of the crystals by suitable turning amorphous-forming ability,hence they increase saturation magnetic flux density(B_(s))and slightly worse magnetic softness of the as-spun alloys.The as-spun Fe_(81.3)Si_(4)B_(7)C_(6)Cu_(1.7) alloy possesses a combined structure of a fully amorphous layer in wheel side surface and predominating nanocrystalline structure with gradually enlargedα-Fe crystal,whose average size and volume fraction are determined as about 12 nm and 32%,respectively,therefore superior soft magnetic properties and ductile with a high B_(s)of 1.74 T,coercivity(H_(c))of 32.7 A/m,effective permeability(μ_(e),at 1 kHz)of 3200 and high relatively strain at fracture(ε_(f))of 3.61%can be achieved directly in this alloy by only using melt-spinning.The annealing at 578 K releases internal stress,promotes the growth of theα-Fe crystals and remains the amorphous layer of the Fe_(81.3)Si_(4)B_(7)C_(6)Cu_(1.7) alloy,then improves the soft magnetic properties and maintains the superior ductile with increasing the B_(s)andμ_(e)to 1.80 T and 14,100,respectively,lowering the H_(c)to9.4 A/m and slightly reducing theε_(f)to 2.39%.The combination of superior soft magnetic properties and ductile and simplified synthesis process entitles the Fe-Si-B-C-Cu nanocrystalline alloys great potentials in high performance electromagnetic applications.

Microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe81.3Si4B13Cu1.7 nanocrystalline alloys with minor Nb addition

The amorphous matrix contAlning dispersive high number density （Na） α-Fe nuclei with average grAln sizes （D） of 4.3-6.2 nm was formed in the melt-spun Fe81.3-xSi4B13Cu1.7Nbx （x = 0-2） alloys, and the Nd and D values reduce with increase in the Nb content. The fine nanocrystalline structure with α-Fe grAlns of 14.0-21.6 nm in size was obtAlned for the annealed alloys, which showed high saturation magnetic flux density of 1.60-1.77 T and low coercivity （He） of 7.1-17.0 A/m. Addition of minor Nb significantly expands the optimum annealing temperature range for obtAlning good soft magnetic properties, while coarsens the α-Fe grAlns, leading to a slight increase in the Hc. The mechanism of the effect of Cu and Nb elements on the structure and magnetic properties was discussed in terms of the formation and growth of the α-Fe nuclei of the alloys.

Interfacial Characteristics of Nanocrystalline FeMoSiB Alloys

By using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) and transmission Mssbauer spectroseopy (TMES), the formation, structure and properties including microhardness and electrical resistivity of nanocrystalline FeMoSiB alloys have been investigated. By annealing the as-quenched FeMoSiB sample at 833-1023K for 1 h, nanocrystalline materials with grain sizes of 15 to 200 nm were obtained. Mssbauer spectroscopy results reveal a quasi-continuous distribution feature of P(H)-H curves for 15 nm-and 20 nm-grained samples. Also, it was found that resistivity and microhardness of nanocrystalline Fe-Mo-Si-B alloys exhibit strong grain size effect.

Corrosion-wear behavior of nanocrystalline Fe88Si12 alloy in acid and alkaline solutions

The corrosion-wear behavior of a nanocrystalline Fe_（88）Si_（12） alloy disc coupled with a Si_3N_4 ball was investigated in acid（pH 3） and alkaline（pH 9） aqueous solutions. The dry wear was also measured for reference. The average friction coefficient of Fe_（88）Si_（12） alloy in the pH 9 solution was approximately 0.2, which was lower than those observed for Fe_（88）Si_（12） alloy in the pH 3 solution and in the case of dry wear. The fluctuation of the friction coefficient of samples subjected to the pH 9 solution also showed similar characteristics. The wear rate in the pH 9 solution slightly increased with increasing applied load. The wear rate was approximately one order of magnitude less than that in the pH 3 solution and was far lower than that in the case of dry wear, especially at high applied load. The wear traces of Fe_（88）Si_（12） alloy under different wear conditions were examined and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results indicated that the tribo-chemical reactions that involve oxidation of the worn surface and hydrolysis of the Si_3N_4 ball in the acid solution were restricted in the pH 9 aqueous solution. Thus, water lubrication can effectively improve the wear resistance of nanocrystalline Fe_（88）Si_（12） alloy in the pH 9 aqueous solution.

Heterostructured crystallization mechanism and its effect on enlarging the processing window of Fe-based nanocrystalline alloys

The harsh melt-spinning and annealing processes of high saturation magnetization nanocrystalline softmagnetic alloys are the biggest obstacles for their industrialization. Here, we proposed a novel strategy to enlarge the processing window by annealing the partially crystallized precursor ribbons via a heterostructured crystallization process. The heterostructured evolution of Fe_(84.75)Si_(2)B_(9)P_(3)_(C0.5)Cu_(0.75)(at.%)alloy ribbons with different spinning rate were studied in detail, to demonstrate the gradient nucleation and grain refinement mechanisms. The nanocrystalline alloys made with industrially acceptable spinning rate of 25-30 m/s and normal annealing process exhibit excellent magnetic properties and fine nanostructure. The small quenched-in crystals/clusters in the free surface of the low spinning rate ribbons will not grow to coarse grains, because of the competitive grain growth and shielding effect of metalloid elements rich interlayer with a high stability. Avoiding the precipitation of quenched-in coarse grains in precursor ribbons is thus a new criterion for the composition and process design, which is more convenient than the former one with respect to the homogenous crystallization mechanism, and enable us to produce high performance nanocrystalline soft-magnetic alloys. This strategy is also suitable for improving the compositional adjustability, impurity tolerance, and enlarging the window of melt temperature,which is an important reference for the future development of composition and process.

Formation of Fe-19 wt%Cr-9 wt%Ni Nanocrystalline Alloy with Excellent Corrosion Resistance: Phase Transition and Microstructure

In this paper,microstructure characteristics and phase transitions of Fe-19 wt%Cr-9 wt%Ni nanocrystalline alloy are comprehensively studied during the mechanical alloying and hot pressing sintering processes.Corrosion resistance of the sintered Fe-19 wt%Cr-9 wt%Ni nanocrystalline alloy samples is further analyzed.During the mechanical alloying process,Fe-19 wt%Cr-9 wt%Ni nanocrystalline alloy powders mainly composed of metastable ferrite phase are obtained after mechanical alloying for 8,16 and 24 h,respectively.In the subsequent hot pressing sintering process,the phase transitions(from ferrite to austenite)occur from 650 to 750°C for Fe-19 wt%Cr-9 wt%Ni alloy powders milled for 24 h.When the sintering temperature is raised to 1050°C for 1 h,the ferrite phase has transformed into austenite phase completely,and the obtained grain size of sintered Fe-19 wt%Cr-9 wt%Ni alloy is around 40 nm.Electrochemistry test of the sintered Fe-19 wt%Cr-9 wt%Ni alloy has been operated in 0.5 mol L^(-1) H_(2)SO_(4) solution to show the corrosion resistance properties.Results show that the sintered Fe-19 wt%Cr-9 wt%Ni alloy exhibits excellent corrosion resistance,which is proved by higher self-corrosion potential,lower self-corrosion current density and larger capacitive reactance,compared with that of commercial 304 stainless steel.

Effects of Ribbon Thickness on Structure and Soft Magnetic Properties of a High-Cu-Content FeBCuNb Nanocrystalline Alloy

The effects of ribbon thickness(t)on the structure and magnetic properties of a Fe_(82.3)B_(13)Cu_(1.7)Nb_(3) alloy in melt-spun and annealed states have been investigated.Increasing the t from 15 to 23μm changes the structure of the melt-spun ribbons from a single amorphous phase to a composite with denseα-Fe nanograins embedded in the amorphous matrix.The grain size(D_(α-Fe))of theα-Fe near the free surface of the ribbon is about 6.7 nm,and it gradually decreases along the cross section toward the wheel-contacted surface.Further increasing the t to 32μm coarsens the D_(α-Fe) near the free surface to 15.2 nm and aggravates the D_(α-Fe) ramp along the cross section.After annealing,the ribbon with t=15μm has relatively largeα-Fe grains with D_(α-Fe)>30 nm,while the thicker ribbons possessing the pre-existing nanograins form a finer nanostructure with D_(α-Fe)<16 nm.The structural uniformity of the ribbon with t=23μm is better than that of the ribbon with t=32μm.The annealed ribbons with t=23 and 32μm possess superior soft magnetic properties to the ribbon with t=15μm.The ribbon with t=23μm exhibits a high saturation magnetic flux density of 1.68 T,low coercivity of 9.6 A/m,and high effective permeability at 1 kHz of 15,000.The ribbon with t=32μm has a slightly larger coercivity due to the lower structural uniformity.The formation mechanism of the fine nanostructure for the ribbons with suitable t has been discussed in terms of the competitive growth effect among the pre-existingα-Fe nanograins.

THERMAL PROPERTIES OF NANOCRYSTALLINE Fe_78B_13Si_9 ALLOY

A new method was developed for preparing nanocrystalline alloy made of the identi- cal compositional Fe_(78)B_(13)Si_9 amorphous ribbon by suitable isothermal annealing.Its microstructure and some structure-sensitive properties.including thermal expansion,spe- cific heat,etc.,have been studied and measured.Comparative analysis of properties was also carried out with amorphous and coarse-grained crystalline alloys of same composi- tion,thus.it is believed that so novel differences in properties from usual materials would be made by the particular microstructure of short range disorder of the nanocrystalline alloy.

Room-temperature and high-temperature magnetic permeability of Co-doped nanocrystalline alloys

Influence of composition and annealing temperature on structure and magnetic properties of amorphous and nanocrystalline Fe78.4-xCoxSi9B9Nb2.6Cu1 （x=27.4, 40.0, 51.0, 78.4） alloys was investigated by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and the temperature dependence of permeability. According to the initial crystallization temperature （Tx1） from differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） curves of as-quenched amorphous alloys, 490-700 ℃ isothermal annealing was carded out to obtain the characteristic nanocrystalline structure. Furthermore, the soft magnetic properties were measured by temperature evolution of magnetic permeability to obtain the correlation between Co content, annealing temperature and magnetic permeability. The results show that, on the one hand, the annealing temperature exerts a significant effect on phase structure and initial permeability （μi）. The higher-temperature （from 550 to 610 ℃） annealed Co content nanocrystalline samples can remain higher μi at elevated temperature. On the other hand, partial substitution Fe by Co can improve the high-temperature magnetic stability;however, the room-temperature permeability of higher Co content alloys decreases obviously at the same time. This phenomenon was analyzed from the viewpoint of the saturation magnetic induction （Bs）, magnetic anisotropy （〈K〉） and magnetostriction （λs）.

Behavior of Medium-frequency Core Loss in Fe-based Nanocrystalline Soft Magnetic Alloys

The dependences of the power loss per cycle on frequency have been investigated in the ranges of 100 Hz<= f<=25000 Hz and 0.1 T< =Bm <=1.0 T for three main original magnetic states in five sorts of Fe-based nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys. The measured and calculated results showed that the total power loss per cycle clearly exhibited a nonlinear behavior in the range below 3 kHz～5 kHz depending on both the magnetic state and the value of Dm, whereas it showed a quasi-linear behavior above this range. The total loss was decomposed into hysteresis loss, classical eddy current loss and excess loss, the obvious nonlinear behavior has been confirmed to be completely determined by the dependence of the excess loss on frequency. It has been indicated that the change rate of the excess loss per cycle with respect to frequency sharp decreases with increasing frequency in the range below about 3 kHz～5 kHz, wherease the rate of change slowly varies above this range, thus leading to the quasilinear behavior of the total loss per cycle. In this paper, some linear expressions of the total loss per cycle has been given in a wider medium-frequency segment, which can be used for roughly estimating the total loss.

General Properties of Low-frequency Power Losses in Fe-based Nanocrystalline Soft Magnetic Alloys

The dependences of the power loss per cycle on frequency f and amplitude flux density Bm have been investigated for the three main original magnetic states in five sorts of Fe-based nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys in the ranges of 10 Hz<=f<=1000 Hz and 0.4 T<= Bm <=1.0 T. The total loss P is decomposed into the sum of the hysteresis loss Physt, the classical eddy current loss Pel and the excess loss Pexc. Physt has been found to be proportional to Bm^2 and f. The behavior of Pexc/f vs f being equivalent to P/f vs f clearly exhibits nonlinearity in the range not more than about 120 Hz, whereas the behavior of P/f vs f roughly shows linearity in the range far above 100 Hz and not more than 1000 Hz. In the range up to 1000 Hz, Physt is dominant in the original high permeability state and the state of low residual flux density, whereas Pexc in the state of high residual flux density is dominant in the wider range above about 100 Hz. The framework of the statistical theory of power loss has been used for representing the behavior of Pexc/f vs f. It has been found that the number n of the simultaneously active 'Magnetic Objects' linearly varies as n = n0 + Hexc/H0 as a function of the dynamic field Hexc in the range below about 120 Hz, whereas n approximately follows a law of the form n = n0 + (Hexc/H0)^m with 1 < m < 2 in the range far above 100 Hz and not more than 1000 Hz. The values of the field HO in principle related to the microstructure and the domain structure have been calculated for the three states.

Mechanically Driven Alloying and Structural Evolution of Nanocrystalline Fe_(60)Cu_(40) Powder

Highly supersaturated nanocrystalline fcc Fe60Cu40 alloy has been prepared by mechanical alloying of elemental powders. The phase transformation is monitored by X-ray diffraction (XRD),Mossbauer spectroscopy and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). The powder obtained after milling is of single fcc structure with grain size of nanometer order. The Mossbauer spectra of the milled powder can be fitted by two subspectra whose hyperfine magnetic fields are 16 MA/m and 20 MA/m while that of pure Fe disappeared. EXAFS results show that the radial structure function (RSF) of Fe K-edge changed drastically and finally became similar to that of reference Cu K-edge, while that of Cu K-edge nearly keeps unchanged in the process of milling. These imply that bcc Fe really transforms to fcc structure and alloying between Fe and Cu occurs truly on an atomic scale. EXAFS results indicate that iron atoms tend to segregate at the boundaries and Cu atoms are rich in the fcc lattice. Annealing experiments show that the Fe atoms at the interfaces are easy to cluster to α-Fe at a lower temperature, whereas the iron atoms in the lattice will form γ-Fe first at temperature above 350℃, and then transform to bcc Fe

Highly Improved Electrochemical Performances of the Nanocrystalline and Amorphous Mg_2Ni-type Alloys by Substituting Ni with M (M=Cu,Co,Mn)

The element Ni in the Mg2Ni alloy is partially substituted by M（M = Cu, Co, Mn） in order to ameliorate the electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of Mg2Ni-type electrode alloys. The nanocrystalline and amorphous Mg20Ni10-xMx（M = None, Cu, Co, Mn; x = 0-4） alloys were prepared by melt spinning. The effects of the M（M = Cu, Co, Mn） content on the structures and electrochemical hydrogen storage characteristics of the as-cast and spun alloys were comparatively studied. The analyses by XRD, SEM and HRTEM reveal that all the as-cast alloys have a major phase of Mg2Ni but the M（M = Co, Mn） substitution brings on the formation of some secondary phases, MgCo2 and Mg for the（M = Co） alloy, and Mn Ni and Mg for the（M = Mn） alloy. Besides, the as-spun（M = None, Cu） alloys display an entirely nanocrystalline structure, whereas the as-spun（M = Co, Mn） alloys hold a nanocrystalline/amorphous structure, suggesting that the substitution of M（M = Co, Mn） for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloys. The electrochemical measurements indicate that the variation of M（M = Cu, Co, Mn） content engenders an obvious effect on the electrochemical performances of the as-cast and spun alloys. To be specific, the cyclic stabilities of the alloys augment monotonously with increasing M（M = Cu, Co, Mn） content, and the capacity retaining rate（S20） is in an order of（M = Cu） 〉（M = Co） 〉（M = Mn） 〉（M = None） for x≤1 but changes to（M = Co） 〉（M = Mn） 〉（M = Cu） 〉（M = None） for x≥2. The discharge capacities of the as-cast and spun alloys always grow with the rising of M（M = Co, Mn） content but first mount up and then go down with increasing M（M = Cu） content. Whatever the M content is, the discharge capacities are in sequence：（M = Co） 〉（M = Mn） 〉（M = Cu） 〉（M = None）. The high rate discharge abilities（HRDs） of all the alloys grow clearly with rising M（M = Cu, Co） content except for（M = Mn） alloy, whose HRD has a maximum value with varying M（M = Mn） content. Furthermore, for the as-cast alloys, the HRD is in order of（M = Co） 〉（M = Mn） 〉（M = Cu） 〉（M = None）, while for the as-spun（20 m·s^-1） alloys, it changes from（M = Co） 〉（M = Mn） 〉（M = Cu） 〉（M = None） for x = 1 to（M = Cu） 〉（M = Co） 〉（M = None） 〉（M = Mn） for x = 4.

Role of Disclinations and Nanocrystalline State in the Formation of Quasicrystalline Phases on Mechanical Alloying of Cu-Fe Powders

Elemental powders of Cu and Fe were ball milled for various time durations up to 100 h. The various stages of forced alloying by ball milling, leading to instability of elemental crystalline phases and formation of quasicrystalline phases were monitored using X-ray diffraction. Diffusion of Fe into the Cu matrix is proposed as the cause which triggers the instability of crystalline phases and leads to the formation of quasicrystalline phases after 10 h of milling. Milling for 100 h resulted in two different quasicrystalline phases with different lattice constants. Role of the nanocrystalline microstructure as an important criterion for the destabilisation of crystalline phases is explained. It is suggested that the formation of nanocrystalline microstructure and their subsequent transformation into quasicrystalline phases may be associated with a continuous increase in the disclination content of the system, which had formed as a result of continued milling and mechanical deformation.

Effect of Ga addition on the magnetic properties and microstructure of nanocrystalline Nd_(12.3)Fe_(81.7)B_(6.0) ribbons

Nd 12.3 Fe 81.7 x Ga x B 6.0 （x = 0-1.8） ribbons were prepared by melt spinning at 22 m/s and subsequent annealing treatment. The influences of Ga addition and annealing conditions on the magnetic properties and microstructure of the nanocrystalline alloys were systematically investigated. After being annealed at 620℃ for 20 min, the J r and H ci increased from 0.85 T and 582.6 kA/m for Ga-free sample to 0.97 T and 734.6 kA/m for the x = 0.9 sample, respectively. The （BH） max for the x = 0.9 sample increased by about 40% from 96.3 to 135.5 kJ/m 3 compared with that of the Ga-free one. The significant improvement of magnetic properties originated from the refinement of grains in the samples by introducing Ga, which led to a stronger exchange coupling between the neighboring grains in comparison with that in Ga-free samples. The microstructure and magnetic properties of the samples depended strongly on annealing parameters, while the sensitivity of micro-structure to annealing conditions could be significantly suppressed by the addition of Ga element.

Spark plasma sintering of a high-energy ball milled Mg-10 wt% Al alloy

The influence of spark plasma sintering(SPS)temperature on microstructure,hardness and corrosion behavior of a high-energy ball milled Mg-10wt%Al alloy was investigated in this work.The holding time and sintering pressure for SPS were kept constant while varying the sintering temperature from 200 to 350℃.The grain size and microstructure were studied using X-ray diffraction analysis,scanning electron microscopy,energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy,and Archimedes'based density measurement.Corrosion behavior was investigated using potentiodynamic polarization tests.The nanocrystalline regime(grain size<100nm)was maintained even after SPS up to 350℃.The density of the alloy increased with increasing the SPS temperature.Vickers'hardness and corrosion performance improved up to 300℃ followed by a decrease after SPS at 350℃.Possible reasons for densification,strengthening,and corrosion behavior have been discussed in the light of reduced porosity and microstructural changes.