Cryomilling for the fabrication of a particulate B4C reinforced Al nanocomposite: Part II. Mechanisms for microstructural evolution

Abstract

Cryomilling was successfully employed to fabricate particulate B4C-reinforced Al matrix nanocomposite powders. In order to investigate the microstructural evolution during cryomilling, composite powders were milled for different times. These powders were collected from the milling chamber and the microstructures were characterized to reveal the formation mechanism for this nanocomposite. The microstructural evolution, including the morphology and size of the milled composite powders, the size and distribution of the B4C, and the dimension of the Al grains, is discussed on the basis of the experimental results.