Influencing the Size and Shape of High-Energy Ball Milled Particle Reinforced Aluminum Alloy Powder

High-energy ball milling represents an efficient process for producing composite powders consisting of ceramic particles dispersed in a metallic matrix. However, collision events, plastic deformations, and cold welding during the milling lead to a flake or block-like shape of the resulting composite powders. Further consolidation of such irregularly shaped powders by powder bed-based additive manufacturing technologies can be challenging because of their low flowability and low bulk density. In this work, different approaches, including milling process parameters (speed, process control agent atmosphere) and post-treatments (mechanical and thermal), are investigated on their suitability to influence the particle shape, especially concerning the roundness of the composite powders consisting of the aluminum alloy AlSi10Mg with 5 vol% SiC and Al2O3 reinforcement. It is found that milling with menthol as a process control agent leads to the finest composite powder compared to other milling parameters, with the lowest particle roundness of 0.39 (initial powders 0.84). No success in rounding the milled composite powder could be achieved through mechanical post-treatment in a planetary ball mill. On the other side, the thermal spraying of, e.g., SiC reinforced AlSi10Mg powder resulted in a 77-82% relative roundness. A remarkable change in the microstructure and the shape of the composite powders could also be observed after heat treatment in tube furnaces at a temperature above the melting point of AlSi10Mg. The best result in terms of improved roundness (relative to around 85%) was obtained for Al2O3 reinforced at 600 °C. A further increase of the temperature to 700 °C resulted in a moderate coarsening of powders with Al2O3 and extensive sintering of powders with SiC, presumably due to a different distribution inside the matrix.