1). Mechanical alloying pulverizing technology was first successfully developed by Benjamin and others of the International Nickel Company in the United States around 1969. This process was originally called "ball mill mixing", but INCO (International Nickel Company) patent attorney Mr. Ewan C. MacQueen called this process "mechanical alloying" in the first patent application ( Mechanical Alloying).
2). In the early 1970s, mechanical alloying technology was first used to prepare dispersion-strengthened high-temperature alloys. The first alloy developed was MA753 (Ni75-Cr20-C0.05-Al1.5- Ti2.5-(Y2O3)0.3-remainder), as officially produced alloy brands include dispersion-strengthened nickel-based superalloy MA754, MA6000E, and dispersion-strengthened iron-based superalloy MA956.
3). In the 1980s, International Nickel Corporation and Japan Metal Materials Technology Research Institute launched second-generation dispersion-strengthened high-temperature alloys, such as MA754's modified material MA758, MA6000's modified material MA760, The modified materials of MA956, MA957, and TMO-2 alloy are gradually accepted by users because these modified alloys have properties that can meet special requirements. In addition to the preparation of high-temperature alloys, mechanical alloying technology is also widely used in the preparation of structural materials. Dispersion-strengthened aluminum-based alloys INCOMAP-Al9021 and INCOMAP-Al9052 have good comprehensive properties in terms of tensile strength, corrosion resistance, fracture toughness and fatigue resistance. They are a new type of industrial shaped alloy materials. This type of dispersion-strengthened materials has been Comparative tests have been conducted on the Lockheed C-130 aircraft, and the results are very satisfactory. In addition, the INCOMAP-Al905XL alloy prepared using mechanical alloying technology has similar strength to the usual 7075-T73 aluminum alloy, but the density is 8% smaller and the stiffness is increased by 15%.
4). In 1975, Jangg et al. proposed a similar method of "reaction ball milling", which involves ball milling chemical additives and metal powder together to induce a low-temperature chemical reaction and generate uniformly distributed dispersed particles. The room temperature mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the dispersed aluminum alloy (Al-Al4C3-Al2O3) prepared by this method are better than SAP (dispersion strengthened sintered aluminum). Among them, the mechanical alloyed dispersed aluminum alloy with the commercial brand DISPAL has been widely used. . The dispersion-strengthened copper alloy prepared by mechanical alloying technology has excellent mechanical properties. The mechanical alloyed dispersion-strengthened copper alloy can replace the dispersion-strengthened copper alloy prepared by internal oxidation method and is an ideal lead frame and electrode material. In recent years, research on mechanical alloying dispersion-strengthened titanium alloys, nickel alloys, and molybdenum alloys, as well as mechanical alloying dispersion-strengthened intermetallic compounds, has been increasing. It is estimated that more new dispersion-strengthened materials will come out.
5). From the early 1970s to the early 1980s, mechanical alloying technology was mainly used to develop dispersion-strengthened alloy materials. Although White was the first to propose that mechanical alloying may lead to amorphization of materials in 1979 when he used mechanical alloying to synthesize Nb3Sn superconducting materials; former Soviet scholar Ermakov et al. first proposed this in 1981 when mechanically ball milling Y-Co intermetallic compounds Amorphous alloys were obtained, but these two important results did not attract enough attention from the materials science community at the time. Until 1983, Yeh et al. discovered that hydrogenation caused Zr3Rh amorphization; Schwarz et al. discovered that solid-state diffusion between La and Au crystals resulted in amorphization; Koch et al. used mechanical alloying to prepare Ni40Nb60 amorphous alloy and in 1985 Schwarz et al. used thermodynamic methods to predict the formation region of mechanically alloyed amorphous alloys of Ni-Ti binary systems, and used solid-state reaction theory to explain the formation mechanism of amorphous states. Only then did materials scientists start to study mechanical alloying to prepare amorphous alloys. The powder method has generated great interest. Since the method of preparing amorphous by mechanical alloying avoids the strict requirements of melt cooling rate and nucleation conditions for the formation of metallic glass, it has many advantages, such as: it can obtain more uniform single-phase amorphous and can synthesize quickly. Amorphous alloys that cannot be prepared by solidification technology, etc.
The method of mechanical alloying to prepare amorphous materials has been greatly developed in the past two decades.
6). While people are using solid-state reaction theory to search for new amorphous alloys, Gaffet et al. reported that Si undergoes partial amorphization during ball milling. This is the first example of amorphization of a pure element by mechanical ball milling. The phenomenon of amorphous formation of pure element powders and pure compound powders through mechanical alloying cannot be explained using solid-state reaction theory. Material scientists then ball-milled powders of two or more elements (including powders of two elements), and the process of obtaining a non-equilibrium phase through solid-phase diffusion is called mechanical alloying. Ball-milling powders of a single element or a single compound does not The process that requires material transfer to obtain non-equilibrium phases is called mechanical grinding (MG or MM for short). Obviously the amorphization mechanisms of the two are different.
7). Quasicrystal is a new material discovered in fast-cooling Al-Mn alloy by Schechtman et al. in 1984, which has aroused great interest in the materials community. Quasicrystalline alloys can be prepared by rapid condensation, sputtering, vapor deposition, ion beam mixing, amorphous phase heat treatment, solid-state diffusion reaction and melting and casting. The preparation of quasicrystalline alloys using mechanical alloying technology is one of the important advances in mechanical alloying research. Ivanov et al. used mechanical alloying technology to prepare the icosahedral quasi-crystalline phase of Mg3Zn(5-x)Alx (where x=2~4) and Mg32Cu8Al41. Its structure is the same as that of the icosahedral quasi-crystalline phase prepared by rapid cooling technology. . Eckert et al. also observed the formation of icosahedral quasi-crystalline phase after mechanical alloying treatment of metal powder with a composition ratio of Al65Cu20Mn15.
8). A solid solution can be formed by mechanical alloying of component metal powders of alloy systems that are completely miscible in the solid state. Benjamin mechanically alloyed Ni powder and Cr powder in 1976 and found that alloying at the atomic scale could truly be achieved. He found that the magnetic properties of Ni-Cr alloys prepared by mechanical alloying were exactly the same as those of Ni-Cr alloys of the same composition prepared by traditional ingot metallurgy. Si and Ge are completely soluble in each other, but both are brittle materials at room temperature. Experiments by Davis et al. in 1987 showed that when Si and Ge powders were mechanically alloyed, the lattice constants of Si and Ge gradually moved closer. When the ball milling time reached 4 to 5 hours, the lattice constants merged into one, indicating the formation of Si-Ge solid solution.
9). The use of non-equilibrium processing methods, such as rapid solidification, can break through the limit of equilibrium solid solubility of alloys. Mechanical alloying technology also has the same function. In 1985, Schwarz et al. found that in mechanically alloyed titanium and nickel powders, the solid solubility of Ti in Ni with a face-centered cubic structure was as high as 28 mass%. According to the Ti-Ni alloy equilibrium phase diagram, Ti in Ni The solid solubility in is only a few percent. In 1990, Polkin et al. systematically reported the phenomenon of solid solubility increase caused by mechanical alloying. They found solid solubility in the studied Al-Fe, Ni-Al, Ni-W, Ni-Cr and other alloy systems. Significant solubility expansion phenomenon.
10). Generally speaking, ordered solid solutions can produce disordered structures through processes such as radiation, rapid solidification, and large plastic deformation, and lead to changes in alloy properties. Mechanical alloying can also lead to the disordering of the structures of ordered alloys and intermetallic compounds. The initial report was the research work conducted by Ermakov et al., who disordered the structure of the ordered compound ZnFe2O4 through the mechanical milling (MM) process. . In 1983, Elsukov et al. reported the disordering of the Fe3Si phase through mechanical alloying. Bakker et al. reported detailed research results on the disordering of intermetallic compounds.
11). Mechanical alloying is one of the few methods that can uniformly mix two or more immiscible phases. This is actually the case for dispersion-strengthened alloys, since the oxides are essentially insoluble in the metal matrix. More generally, mechanical alloying can be applied to binary alloy systems that are immiscible in the solid or even liquid state. Benjamin introduced the results of the formation of uniform compounds during the mechanical alloying process of Fe-50mass%Cu alloys with limited miscibility and Cu-Pb alloys with non-miscible gaps in the liquid state.
Green et al. used a mechanical alloying method to prepare a new type of electrical contact material. The original material was a Cu-15vol%Ru mixture, and Cu and Ru were immiscible. The Cu and Ru mixed powders were mechanically alloyed and then annealed, cold pressed and hot rolled to obtain a Cu-Ru composite material, and then the final size strips were obtained through cold rolling and annealing. Scanning electron microscopy analysis results show that the final diameter of the Ru particles is 1~2 μm. The Cu on the surface of the strip is removed by etching, and the hard, refractory and conductive Ru particles protrude on the surface and can be used as electrical contacts. , the Cu matrix plays a supporting role and ensures the continuity of the current.
12). The preparation of nanomaterials is one of the research hotspots in the field of materials science. Nanomaterials have significant volume effects, surface effects and interface effects, which cause changes in the mechanical, electrical, magnetic, thermal, optical and chemical activity properties of the material. There are three main methods for preparing nanocrystalline materials: solid phase method, liquid phase method and gas phase method. Thompson et al. first reported the synthesis of nanocrystalline materials through mechanical alloying in 1987. Hellstern et al. and Jang et al. reported the preparation of nanocrystalline materials through mechanical alloying technology using elemental powders and intermetallic compound powders. Schlump et al. found that in non-miscible alloy systems such as Fe-W, Cu-Ta, Ti-Ni-C, W-Ni-C, etc., nanometer-sized dispersed phase particles can be generated by ball milling.
13). In 1988, Professor Shingu and others from Kyoto University in Japan systematically reported on the preparation of Al-Fe nanocrystalline materials using high-energy ball milling, and found a way to prepare and apply nanocrystalline materials. A practical approach. Research shows that nanocrystalline materials can be synthesized by ball milling of element powders, intermetallic compound powders, and component powders of non-miscible alloy systems. At present, nanocrystals have been obtained in pure metal powders such as Fe, Cr, Nb, W, Zr, Hf, and Ru; nanostructured solid solutions have been obtained in Ag-Cu, Al-Fe, and Fe-Cu alloys; in Cu- Nanostructured metastable phases are obtained in Ta and Cu-W series alloys; in Fe-B, Ti-S, Ti-B, Ni-Si, V-C, W-C, Si-C, Pd-Si, Ni-Mo, Nanocrystalline intermetallic compounds were obtained from Ni-Al and Ni-Zr alloys.
14). From the early 1980s to the early 1990s, mechanical alloying technology was mainly used to prepare non-equilibrium materials. Almost all non-equilibrium materials can be prepared using mechanical alloying technology. The research on the preparation of non-equilibrium materials has set off another climax in the research of mechanical alloying technology.
15). Many alloy systems can synthesize pure components into intermetallic compounds after mechanical alloying. Since cast intermetallic compounds often have coarse-grained as-cast structures with poor processability, it is difficult to control their microstructure even through deformation-heat treatment technology. Therefore, people hope that the intermetallic compound prepared by mechanical alloying technology is a material with microcrystalline and nanocrystalline structures, which can improve the brittleness of the intermetallic compound. McDermott et al. were the first to use mechanical alloying methods to prepare intermetallic compounds. They mixed Zn powder and Cu powder in a certain proportion and then ball milled them to obtain β brass. Ivanov prepared the intermetallic compound Ni2Al3 by ball milling a mixture of Ni powder and Al powder in a ratio of Ni40Al60. Usually, the ball milling time required to prepare intermetallic compounds by mechanical alloying is very long, which affects the preparation of intermetallic compounds. Since Schaffer et al. discovered in 1989 that the auto-ignition reaction induced by mechanical alloying can reduce certain metals from their oxides, in 1990 Atzmon et al. discovered that auto-ignition occurs at high temperatures when ball milling Ni powder and Al powder. After the reaction phenomenon, the mechanical alloying self-ignition high-temperature synthesis reaction has become a research hotspot. Using this self-ignition reaction, the ball milling time can be greatly shortened and a variety of intermetallic compounds can be prepared.