Evolution of morphology and texture during high energy ball milling of Ni and Ni-5 wt%Cu powders

•The {001} texture and flaky morphology was observed in Ni during ball milling.•Strong correlation between flakiness and texture was evident in Ni and Ni-5 wt%Cu.•Cu addition stabilizes texture and flakiness by reducing SFE of Ni & work hardening.•Texture development is analyzed by invoking deformation via slip and twinning in Ni.•Texture development/flakiness is also analyzed to depend on input milling energy.

In the present study, alloying of Ni with Cu was attempted using Ni and Cu elemental powders via high energy ball milling. The morphological and texture evolution during milling was studied. The {001} texture was observed in milled particles when they develop flaky morphology with large (L/D ~ 100) ratio and it changed to random texture when these flakes fragmented into tiny particles on further milling. These observations are rationalized by invoking the deformation mechanisms operating during milling. Extensive twinning was observed in the milled particles. The flaky nature of Ni is found to be stabilized with the addition of Cu with concomitant reduction in strain hardening compared to pure nickel.

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