Effects of ternary alloying on mechano-synthesis and nano-crystal stability of an iron-silicon alloy

This paper reports the effects of ternary alloying additions Al, Cu and Nb to Fe75Si25 in high energy ball milling to produce nano-crystalline alloy powder, and its microstructural stability during subsequent high temperature annealing. It is shown that all additions generally retard grain growth up to some temperature. Nb appears to amorphise the alloy. The binary base alloy and Al containing alloy forms the DO3 ordered structure at high temperatures accompanied by rapid grain growth. The Cu and Nb containing alloys precipitate Cu and Nb2Fe at high temperatures but do not become ordered.