Phase Transformation in Mechanically Alloyed and Hot-Pressed Nb-4Si-8B and Nb-8Si-16B Alloys

Abstract

The work reports on the phase transformation in mechanically alloyed and hot-pressed Nb-4Si-8B and Nb-8Si-16B (at-%) alloys. Elemental powder mixtures were processed in a planetary ball mill under argon atmosphere using 300 rpm, stainless steel balls (19 mm diameter) and vials (225 mL), and a ball-to-powder weight ratio of 10:1. After dry milling for 7h, wet milling with isopropyl alcohol for more 20 min was adopted to increase the recovering of previously cold-welded Nb-4Si-8B powders. To obtain the equilibrium structures the as-milled powders were hot-pressed under vacuum at 1200oC for 1 h. The as-milled powders and hot-pressed samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectrometry. XRD results revealed the presence of metastable phases in as-milled Nb-Si-B powders. The hot pressing has produced dense Nb-Si-B samples, which were formed by the Nbss, Nb3B2and Fe2Nb phases beside of other unknown Si-rich phase.