Preparation of the Composite Powder Al – B4C by Ball Milling for Cold Spray

Abstract

Abstract In the work, when ball milling of mixture of aluminum powder (ASD – 1) and boron carbide (F 500) powder in a high-energy planetary mill, composite particles sized from 10 to 100 microns were produced, in the volume of which ultrafine boron carbide particles were distributed in the size range from 0.1 to 20 microns. It is assumed that the use of such particles in the production of coatings by cold gas-dynamic spraying will increase the deposition efficiency and the weight fraction of boron carbide in the coating. An increase in the concentration of carbide particles in the processed powder mixture, under all other conditions being equal, leads to a decrease in the average volume size of the particles. It is noted that in this case, the boron carbide particles behave as a surfactant. The X-ray phase analysis has shown diffraction peaks corresponding only to aluminum and boron carbide, therefore, under the selected milling conditions, the phase composition remain the same as in the original powders.