A mixture of elemental Co50Si50 powders was subjected to mechanical alloying (MA) at room temperature to prepare a CoSi thermoelectric compound. Consolidation of the Co50Si50 mechanically alloyed powders was performed in a spark plasma sintering (SPS) machine using graphite dies up to 800 °C and 1,000 °C under 50 MPa. We have revealed that a nanocrystalline CoSi thermoelectric compound can be produced from a mixture of elemental Co50Si50 powders by mechanical alloying after 20 hours. The average grain size estimated from a Hall plot of the CoSi intermetallic compound prepared after 40 hours of MA was 65 nm. The degree of shrinkage of the consolidated samples during SPS became significant at about 450 °C. All of the compact bodies had a high relative density of more than 94 % with a metallic glare on the surface. X-ray diffraction data showed that the SPS compact produced by sintering mechanically alloyed powders for 40-hours up to 800 °C consisted of only nanocrystalline CoSi with a grain size of 110 nm.

We investigate the austenite stability in nanocrystalline Fe-7%Mn-X%Mo (X = 0, 1, and 2) alloys fabricated by spark plasma sintering. Mo is known as a ferrite stabilizing element, whereas Mn is an austenite stabilizing element, and many studies have focused on the effect of Mn addition on austenite stability. Herein, the volume fraction of austenite in nanocrystalline Fe-7%Mn alloys with different Mo contents is measured using X-ray diffraction. Using a disk compressive test, austenite in Fe–Mn–Mo alloys is confirmed to transform into strain-induced martensite during plastic deformation by a disk d. The variation in austenite stability in response to the addition of Mo is quantitatively evaluated by comparing the k-parameters of the kinetic equation for the strain-induced martensite transformation.

In this study, a nanocrystalline FeNiCrMoMnSiC alloy was fabricated, and its austenite stability, microstructure, and mechanical properties were investigated. A sintered FeNiCrMoMnSiC alloy sample with nanosized crystal was obtained by high-energy ball milling and spark plasma sintering. The sintering behavior was investigated by measuring the displacement according to the temperature of the sintered body. Through microstructural analysis, it was confirmed that a compact sintered body with few pores was produced, and cementite was formed. The stability of the austenite phase in the sintered samples was evaluated by X-ray diffraction analysis and electron backscatter diffraction. Results revealed a measured value of 51.6% and that the alloy had seven times more austenite stability than AISI 4340 wrought steel. The hardness of the sintered alloy was 60.4 HRC, which was up to 2.4 times higher than that of wrought steel.

The effect of sintering conditions on the austenite stability and strain-induced martensitic transformation of nanocrystalline FeCrC alloy is investigated. Nanocrystalline FeCrC alloys are successfully fabricated by spark plasma sintering with an extremely short densification time to obtain the theoretical density value and prevent grain growth. The nanocrystallite size in the sintered alloys contributes to increased austenite stability. The phase fraction of the FeCrC sintered alloy before and after deformation according to the sintering holding time is measured using X-ray diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction analysis. During compressive deformation, the volume fraction of strain-induced martensite resulting from austenite decomposition is increased. The transformation kinetics of the strain-induced martensite is evaluated using an empirical equation considering the austenite stability factor. The hardness of the S0W and S10W samples increase to 62.4-67.5 and 58.9-63.4 HRC before and after deformation. The hardness results confirmed that the mechanical properties are improved owing to the effects of grain refinement and strain-induced martensitic transformation in the nanocrystalline FeCrC alloy.

In the present study, we have investigated the effect of sintering process conditions on the stability of the austenite phase in the nanocrystalline Fe-5wt.%Mn-0.2wt.%C alloy. The stability and volume fraction of the austenite phase are the key factors that determine the mechanical properties of FeMnC alloys, because strain-induced austenitemartensite transformation occurs under the application of an external stress at room temperature. Nanocrystalline Fe- 5wt.%Mn-0.2wt.%C samples are fabricated using the spark plasma sintering method. The stability of the austenite phase in the sintered samples is evaluated by X-ray diffraction analysis and hardness test. The volume fraction of austenite at room temperature increases as the sample is held for 10 min at the sintering temperature, because of carbon diffusion in austenite. Moreover, water quenching effectively prevents the formation of cementite during cooling, resulting in a higher volume fraction of austenite. Furthermore, it is found that the hardness is influenced by both the austenite carbon content and volume fraction.

The electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption properties of the nanocrystalline powder mixed with 5 to 20 vol% of Ni-Zn ferrites has been investigated in a frequency range from 100MHz to 10GHz. Amorphous ribbons prepared by a planar flow casting process were pulverized and milled after annealing at 425 for 1 hour. The powder was mixed with a ferrite powder at various volume ratios to tape-cast into a 1.0mm thick sheet. Results showed that the EM wave absorption sheet with Ni-Zn ferrite powder reduced complex permittivity due to low dielectric constant of ferrite compared with nanocrystalline powder, while that with 5 vol% of ferrite showed relatively higher imaginary part of permeability. The sheet mixed with 5 vol% ferrite powder showed the best electromagnetic wave absorption properties at high frequency ranges, which resulted from the increased imaginary part of permeability due to reduced eddy current.

The electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption properties with a variation of crystallization annealing temperature have been investigated in a sheet-type absorber using the alloy powder. With increasing the annealing temperature the complex permeability (), permittivity () and power absorption changed. The EM wave absorber shows the maximum permeability and permittivity after the annealing at for 1 hour, and its calculated power absorption is above 80% of input power in the frequency range over 1.5 GHz.

The oxidation of nanocrystalline powder has been conducted to investigate its influence on the electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics of the soft magnetic material. Oxidation occurred primarily on the surface of nanocrystals. Oxidation reduced the real part of complex permeability due to the reduction of the relative volume of the powder, which otherwise contributes to the permeability. Oxidation reduced the absorption efficiency of the sheet at frequencies over 1GHz, indicating that the relative contribution of skin depth increments to the absorption was not significant. The pulverization and milling process lowered the optimum crystallization temperature of the material by because of the internal energy accumulated during the fragmentation and powder thinning processes.

Microstructure and soft magnetic properties of bulk amorphous and/or nanocrystalline Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9 alloys prepared by consolidation at 5.5GPa were investigated. The relative density of the bulk sample 1 (from amorphous powders) was 98.5% and the grain sizes were about 10.6nm. While the relative density and grain sizes of bulk sample 2 (from nanocrystalline powders) are 98% and 20.1nm, respectively. Particularly, the bulk samples exhibited a good combined magnetic property: for Sample1, Ms=125emu/g and Hc=1.5Oe; for Sample2, Ms=129emu/g and Hc=3.3Oe. The success of synthesizing the nanocrystalline Fe-based bulk alloys will be encouraging for the future development of bulk nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys.

The hydrogen sorption speed of nanocrystalline and amorphous alloys was evaluated at room temperature. Nanocrystalline alloys of were prepared by planetary ball milling. The hydrogen sorption speed of nanocrystalline alloys was higher than that of the amorphous alloy. The enhanced sorption speed of nanocrystalline alloys was explained in terms of surface oxygen stability which has been known to retard the activation of amorphous alloys. The retardation can be reduced by formation of nanocrystals, which results in the observed increase in sorption properties

Mechanical properties of nanocrystalline Al-5at.%Ti alloy were investigated through high temperature compression test. Al-5at.%Ti nanocrystalline metal powders, which had finer and more equiaxed shape than those produced at room temperature, were produced by mechanical alloying at low temperature. The powders were successfully consolidated to 99fo of theoretical density by vacuum hot pressing. XRD and TEM analysis revealed that intermetallic compounds formed inside powders and pure Al region with coarse grains formed between powders, especially at triple junction. Mechanical properties in terms of hardness and strength were improved by grain size refinement, but ductility decreased presumably due to the formation of the weak interfaces between Al pool and powders.