Mechanical Alloying of Elemental Powders into Nanocrystalline (NC) Fe-Cr Alloys: Remarkable Oxidation Resistance of NC Alloys

Mechanical alloying is among the few cost effective techniques for synthesizing nanocrystalline alloy powders. This article reviews mechanical alloying or ball-milling of (NC) powders of Fe-Cr alloys of different compositions, and the remarkable oxidation resistance of the NC alloy. The article also reviews challenges in thermal processing of the mechanically alloyed powders (such as compaction into monolithic mass) and means to overcome the challenges.