Strain Energy During Mechanical Milling: Part II. Experimental

The strain energy stored in mechanically milled 5083 Al powders was investigated using two experimental approaches: thermal and microstructural analysis. The experimental results show that mechanically milled 5083 Al powders store strain energy on the order of a few tens of joules per gram. These experimental results are consistent with the calculated strain energy stored in mechanically milled powders. The experimentally measured strain energy stored in powders increases with an increase in attritor diameter, impeller’s rotational frequency, and ball-to-powder mass ratio; however, it decreases with an increase in ball diameter. These trends were in good agreement with the calculated strain energy stored in powders as a function of the corresponding processing parameters.