Microstructural characterization of field assisted sintered bulk nanostructured V-4Cr-4Ti alloys

This article deals with synthesis of single-phase bulk nanostructured V-4Cr-4Ti alloy by mechanical alloying and field assisted sintering. Mechanically alloyed powders were sintered at 1050 and 1100°C with different sintering time. Both powder and sintered samples were subjected to structural and morphological characterization using x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy studies. x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy studies of sintered samples confirm that field assisted sintering technique aids nanostructuring in V-4Cr-4Ti alloy. Microstructural parameters of sintered samples were calculated from x-ray diffraction patterns. Role of sintering variables on the microstrain evolution and subsequent domain size reduction in bulk V-4Cr-4Ti alloy are briefly discussed. Optimal sintering parameters to achieve nanostructured V-4Cr-4Ti alloy by field assisted sintering were deduced. Micro-hardness and relative density of sintered V-4Cr-4Ti alloy are found to increase with sintering temperature and sintering time.