Microstructural Evolution of Nanostructured Al-Mg Powder System During Ball Milling and Post Heat Treatment Processes

Abstract In the current study, the mechanical alloying of Al-Mg binary system was investigated to synthesize supersaturated and nanostructured phases. For this, three alloying systems with different Mg contents of 10 %wt, 30 %wt and 50 %wt were milled for various times from 2 to 12 h. The morphology, composition and phase structure of the ball milled powders were studied using different techniques. It was revealed that the milled products are mainly consisted of supersaturated and nanostructured aluminum solid solution (α) and magnesium rich Al12Mg17 (γ) phases. While the formation of equilibrium Al3Mg2 (β) phase was not observed based on the results. The thermal stability and oxidation behavior of the supersaturated and nanostructured phases was further investigated using distinct thermal analyses under argon and air atmospheres.