A comparative study on X-ray peak broadening analysis of mechanically alloyed Al2O3 particles dispersion strengthened Al 7017 alloy

AA7017 + x vol. % Al2O3 (x = 5, 10, 20) nanocomposites powders were synthesized by HEBM process with milling time of 0 h and 20 h. The synthesized nanocomposite powders were characterized using XRD (Bruker USA D8 Advance, Davinci) with CuK alpha (1.5406 angstrom), 2 theta range (30 degrees-90 degrees), and Scan Speed (1 degrees/min) for examining the crystalline nature of the powder samples. The size and shape of the powder particle were identified by HR-SEM (FEI Quanta FEG 200F) with 30 KV voltage, wide magnification range (12x-105 x) and secondary electron mode, and HR-TEM (JEOL Japan, JEM-2100 Plus) with voltage (200 kV), and magnification range (below 50 nm). Powder particles were measured by laser scattering technique using zeta analyzer (Laser Particle size Analyser, M/s Microtrac),and finally, the melting point and peak shift variation of composite powder samples were analyzed using TG-DSC (Netzsch TG-DSC) with temperature range (25-1400 degrees C), and heating rate (10 degrees C/min)under argon atmosphere. Furthermore, the particle sizes evaluated from different models of diffraction analysis (Scherrer, Williamson-Hall, and size-strain plot, SSP, methods) were compared with the results from PSA, HR-SEM, and HR-TEM analyses. The obtained mechanical properties explained that 20h milled AA7017 + x vol. % Al2O3 (x = 5, 10, and 20) samples produced higher values; and the properties improvement in all the samples were correlated theoretically by various strengthening mechanisms.

Automated summary

AA7017 + x vol. % Al2O3 (x = 5, 10, 20) nanocomposite powders were synthesized by HEBM process, and the powders milled for 20 hours showed better performance. The synthesized powders were characterized using XRD, HR-SEM, HR-TEM, Zeta particle size analyzer, and TG-DSC. The particle sizes obtained from different diffraction analysis models were compared with the results from PSA, HR-SEM, and HR-TEM analyses.