Effect of milling speed on the formation of Ti-6Al-4V via mechanical alloying

Abstract

Ti-6Al-4V alloys are well known for good corrosion resistance, excellent surface oxide biocompatibility and high specific strength. This paper investigates the influence of milling parameters on the formation of Ti-6Al-4V alloy processed using mechanical alloying. A mixture of CP Ti and master alloy (60Al-40V) powder were milled using a high energy ball mill (HEBM) in order to produce a mechanically alloyed Ti-6Al-4V alloy powder. Milling was carried out at a constant milling time of 5 hours at varying speeds of 800, 900, 1000 and 1100 rpm in order to investigate the influence of speed on the formation of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive analysis (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were performed on the mechanically alloyed powder to investigate the chemical homogeneity and the formation of alpha (α) and beta (β) phase during the mechanical alloying of CP Ti and 60Al-40V.