Effect of Milling Parameters and Cr Content on Morphology and Solubility of Nanostructured Cu–Cr Solid Solutions

In the present work, a set of Cu-based powder mixtures containing up to 6 wt% Cr has been processed through mechanical alloying for a range of milling times up to 96 h. The mixtures were processed in a ball mill with ball to powder ratio of 10:1 and the equal numbers of 1 and 2 cm balls. The processed powder mixtures were investigated by scanning electron microscope, optical microscopic equipped with image analyzer, X-ray diffraction technique and micro hardness in order to determine the particles morphology, distribution of chromium, mean crystallite size, lattice parameter and hardness after milling, respectively. Crystallite sizes were measured by Williamson–Hall method and lattice parameters were determined using an extrapolation function. Results show that the powder behavior varies with milling time, and powder composition.