Mechanical alloying and reactive milling in a high energy planetary mill

Powder refinement in a planetary mill (Retsch PM 400-MA) is investigated experimentally and analyzed using discrete element modeling (DEM). Refinement is defined as the average size of the individual components in a composite powder. The specific milling dose, defined as the product of charge ratio and milling time, is used as an experimental parameter tracking the progress of the material refinement. This parameter is determined experimentally for milling of boron and titanium powders, for which the time of initiation of a self-sustained reaction is measured under different milling conditions. It is assumed that the reaction becomes self-sustaining when the same powder refinement is achieved. The DEM calculations established that the milling balls primarily roll along the milling container's perimeter. The inverse of the rate of energy dissipation resulting from this rolling motion is used as the DEM analog of the specific milling dose. The results correlate well with experimental observations.