Effect of rotation speed and milling time to attain Nb-10Hf-1Ti alloy powders on morphology and microstructure of Nb-10Hf-1Ti powder

The mechanical alloying process was employed to produce C103 alloy with Nb-10% Hf-1% Ti (wt.%) composition using Nb, Hf and Ti powders. The mechanical alloying process was performed in an argon atmosphere in the chamber and bullets of tungsten carbide with a ball-to-powder weight ratio (BPR) of 20:1 at rotation speed of 200, 300 and 400 rpm for 2, 5 and 8 h. At rotation speeds of 200 and 300 rpm particle size decreased and became more spherical during MA. While increasing milling time at 400 rpm caused agglomeration of particles. XRD results showed that increasing milling time at a constant rotation speed has no considerable effect on reduction of crystallite size, but the lattice strain is strongly affected by it and increased obviously with further rotation speed. The results showed that the optimum milling time and rotation speed to attain Nb-10Hf-1Ti alloy powders with the least amount of contamination and appropriate morphology are 5 h and 300 rpm, respectively.