Study of the feasibility of producing Al–Ni intermetallic compounds by mechanical alloying

Mechanical alloying (MA) was employed to synthesize Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloys of high weight percentage of the nickel component from the elemental powders of constituents via high-energy ball milling. The mixed powders underwent 15 h of milling time at 350 rpm speed and 10: 1 balls/powder weight ratio. The samples were cold-compacted and sintered thereafter. The sintered compacts underwent homogenization treatments at various temperatures conditions and were aged at 120°C for 24 h (T6). The milled powders and heat-treated Al alloy products were characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The crystallite sizes and microstrains of the alloyed powder were estimated via measuring the broadening of XRD peaks using the Williamson–Hall equation. The results have revealed that optimum MA time of 15 h has led to the formation of Al-based solid solutions of Zn, Mg, Cu, and Ni. The outcomes showed that the Vickers hardness of the sintered Al–Zn–Mg–Cu compacts of Ni alloys was enhanced following aging at T6 tempering treatments. Higher compression strength of Al-alloys with the addition of 15% nickel was obtained next to the aging treatment.