Mechanical and structural behaviour of TiAlV nanocrystalline elaborated by mechanical milling technique

The aim of this study is to fabricate the Ti50Al40X10 nanostructured alloy (X: V) from pure titanium, aluminium, and vanadium powders by using a high-energy planetary ball mill with increasing milling time from 10 to 80 h. Morphology, structural, and mechanical properties of this alloy were investigated by a SEM, XRD, and nano-indentation testing. The effect of milling time on structural, morphological, and mechanical properties has been investigated. Microstructural characterisation showed a decrease of average particle size during milling time. Crystallite size decreased from 49 to 6.02 nm and lattice strain increased from 0.15% to about 0.89% during mechanical alloying. In addition, the mechanical properties of Ti50Al40V10 nanostructured materials were strongly depended on the microstructure and crystallite size of new phases that appear during mechanical milling. Microhardness of the Ti50Al40V10 alloy increases with milling time from 261 to 738 Hv. These changes could be attributed to the crystallite size and the strain variations during milling.