Quantitative Analysis of Mechanically Alloyed CuZrB Powders

Copper matrix composites are proving to be a suitable match for the present engineering needs of the market where higher temperature resistance and good microstructural stability are required. Powder metallurgy technique was used to procure the powder mixture, Cu-2Zr-0.6B (wt.%). Different mechanical alloying (MA) parameters were examined with the main focus on time, ranging from 10 h to 40 h. SEM analysis was employed to determine structural and morphological changes of the mechanically alloyed powder mixture. MIPAR image analysis software was used to complete the quantitative analysis of the mechanically alloyed CuZrB powders. Changes in size and shape of powder particles were determined during up to 40 h of MA with key points after every 10 h. It was concluded that the powder particle size decreases as the MA time increases. With the increase in MA time the area of each particle decreases due to the dominant plastic deformation mechanisms as particles undergo high forces through ball-particle-ball and wall-particle-ball collisions during the MA process.