Effect of SiC nanoparticle content and milling time on the microstructural characteristics and properties of Mg-SiC nanocomposites synthesized with powder metallurgy incorporating high-energy ball milling

Abstract The fabrication of magnesium nanocomposites with a homogeneous dispersion of nanoparticles has recently become an important issue. In the current study, micro-sized magnesium powders reinforced with 10, 20, and 30 wt% SiC nanoparticles were synthesized through high-energy ball milling using milling times ranging from 1 to 20 h to overcome the segregation and agglomeration of nanoparticles within the magnesium matrix. The milled nanocomposite powders were then consolidated using uniaxial cold pressing and sintering processes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction were employed to investigate the effects of different milling times and contents of SiC nanoparticles on the evolution of the morphology of Mg–SiC milled powders and the microstructural characteristics of Mg–SiC sintered samples. In addition, once the consolidation process was complete, the relative densities and hardness values of the Mg–SiC nanocomposites were examined. The results indicated that as the content of SiC nanoparticles and the milling time increased, finer and equiaxed nanocomposite powders were obtained, and the average crystallite size of the milled magnesium powder significantly decreased. A homogeneous distribution of the SiC nanoparticles, including up to 30% of weight fraction, in the magnesium matrix was confirmed after 20 h of milling by elemental mapping generated by EDS. Additionally, the XRD analysis revealed that the diffraction peaks of the magnesium broadened while their maximum intensities decreased with increasing the milling time and SiC content. No undesirable phases were formed by interfacial reactions between magnesium and SiC nanoparticles in the milled nanocomposite powder during mechanical alloying. Furthermore, the results showed that both the relative density and hardness value of the Mg–SiC sintered sample improved as the milling time increased. However, the relative density of the Mg–SiC nanocomposite drastically decreased while the hardness significantly improved, as a result of increasing the content of SiC nanoparticles.