X-ray studies of structure defects in nanostructured FeAl alloy

The evolution of the microstructure of the mixture iron and aluminium powders during the high energy mechanical alloying process was investigated by X-ray line profile analysis. Analysis of line breadths was carried out to get an insight into the interrelated effects of grain size, lattice strain and dislocations. The final product of the MA process was the nanocrystalline Fe(Al) solid solution with a mean crystallite of 10 nm. On the basic on the modified Williamson–Hall plots, the root-mean squared strains were explained by the presence of dislocations, with a dislocation density of about 6 × 1016 m− 2. The identified steady-state saturation values of these parameters can be related to accumulate strain hardening of the powder material during longer milling times.