Abstract

In this investigation, Fe3Al intermetallic nanocrystalline powders with C, Ni y Li additions were produced by mechanical alloying. These powders were consolidated under uniaxial compressive pressure and a sintering process in air. Analytical techniques such as; scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry have been used for the morphological and chemical characterization of the alloyed powders. Additions of C, Ni and Li to Fe3Al have been explored as reinforced elements to improve the mechanical properties. The results indicate that the intermetallic alloy is formed from Fe and Al elemental powders after 7 h of milling time. The elements are dissolved in the Fe3Al structure. Density of the compact varied according to the different added elements. The microstructures and density measurements showed relatively good densification near to 90%. However, the best densification values were obtained with Ni and Li additions. The average crystal size of the consolidated specimen was found to be up to 300 nanometers indicating crystal growth occurred during consolidation. The increase in hardness values with element additions may be attributed to the formation of higher densities of lattice defects during mechanical alloying and the presence of Al2O3 compound.