Abstract
The technique of mechanical alloying has been used to obtain FeAlNbB alloy with nanocrystalline structure. A mixture of high purity elemental powders of Fe, Al, Nb and B with a nominal composition Fe65Al15Nb10B10 was subjected to intense mechanical alloying in a high-energy ball mill under argon atmosphere. Morphological, microstructural, structural and thermal characterizations of the powders milled several times were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. Experimental results demonstrated that after an optimum milling time of 50h, FeAlNbB (B2) phase with crystallite size less than 12nm was achieved. Ferro-paramagnetic transition at Curie temperature, Tc, strains relaxation, recovery and recrystallization are revealed in the thermal analysis in the temperature range 35–700°C.
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•It is a complete study about the mechanical alloying process of an FeAlNbB alloy.•Nanocrystalline structure (12nm) is obtained.•Annealing at high temperature favors the grain growth of crystallite and the partial crystallization of Fe rich phase.