Study of Al composites prepared by high-energy ball milling; Effect of processing conditions

The present work deals with the synthesis of some Al-based composites prepared by mechanical milling and processing by powder metallurgy followed by the evaluation of process conditions as: type of additive, their concentration and milling intensity studying its effect on the characteristics of the powder composite and mechanical performance of the composite. Powder samples were microstructural characterized by electronic microscopy (SEM-TEM) and the mechanical response was followed by hardness and compressive tests. A pronounced effect on the mechanical response of the specimens was evident after the addition of reinforced particles and milling intensity. Microscopy studies showed a uniform dispersion of the reinforcing particles in the metallic matrix at nanometric scale and an important grain refinement of the Al matrix was confirmed. After processing, a 66% increase on the mechanical response was reached with 1% of additive complemented with short milling intensities. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.