Osvaldo Mitsuyuki Cintho

High-Energy Mechanical Milling of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE)

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is a polyethylene with a very long chain, which provides excellent features, however it makes the processing difficult due to high melt viscosity. Many studies intend to found out means to make its processing easier. Recently, the high-energy mechanical milling has been used for polymeric materials and it was detected that physical and chemical changes occur during milling. In such case, powder of UHMWPE was milled in three types of mills: SPEX, attritor e planetary, in different times of milling. The polymer was characterized by SEM and XRD. Thus, it was observed that the material processed in attritor mill showed larger phase transformation from orthorhombic to monoclinic. This is most likely due to the smaller milling temperature of attritor mill when compared with the other two mills and the high shear force generated during milling.

Preparation of UHMWPE/MMT Nanocomposites via Mechanical Alloying

The ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has a molecular mass of the order of a millions of grams per mole. So, UHMWPE presents prominent properties, for instance, abrasion and impact resistance. However, due to its very high viscosity in the melt state, the preparation of composites by conventional extrusion and injection molding is not possible. Therefore, in this work we studied the possibility of incorporating montmorillonite (MMT) into the matrix of the UHMWPE in the solid state, via high energy milling. The formulations were prepared in Attritor mill by milling UHMWPE reactor powder and MMT. The samples were characterized by bulk density, XRD, AFM and SEM. Results show that this route of processing was effective to incorporate MMT into the matrix of UHMWPE.

Processing of Cu-Al-Ni and Cu-Zn-Al Alloys by Mechanical Alloying

The mechanical alloying process provides alloys with extremely refined microstructure, reducing the need for alloying elements to grain growth restriction, as in casting techniques. The Cu-Al-Ni and Cu-Zn-Al alloys produced by casting may have the shape memory effect when plastically deformed at relatively low temperatures, returning to its original shape upon heating at a given temperature. This work aimed at the production of Cu-Al-Ni and Cu-Zn-Al alloys by mechanical alloying, followed by microstructural characterization and investigation of the shape memory effect by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Metal powders of Cu, Al, Ni and Cu, Zn, Al were processed in a SPEX high energy vibratory mill during 8 hours, with ball-to-powder weight ratio of 5:1. The milled products were characterized by X-ray diffraction. For each alloy, specimens with 8 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness were shapes by uniaxial pressing, sintered in a tube furnace with argon atmosphere, solubilized and then quenched in water. Samples were characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Vickers hardness testing and DSC. An ultrafine microstructure was obtained in the Cu-Al-Ni alloy but the shape memory effect was not detected by DSC analysis because of second phase precipitation. The shape memory effect was not present in the Cu-Zn-Al alloy also, because of zinc oxidation during the sintering.

Influence of Grinding Media Size and Sintering Time in the Processing of AISI D2 Tool Steel by High-Energy Milling

Tool steels are fundamental in the current production processes, as they are used in dies and molds, essential for the transformation of raw materials into the final product. The tool steels for cold work have a low hot hardness, so their use is limited to temperatures below 200° C. The D-X series of tool steels, high carbon and high chromium, have a high wear resistance and is much used in the manufacture of dies and molds. Despite the high hardness, these steels have a microstructure with coarse carbides, which affects the hardness of the material. An alternative to the processing tool steels is the high-energy milling and subsequent powder metallurgy, in order to refine the microstructure of the material. This work aimed to study the influence of the size of the grinding media in the refining of the microstructure of AISI D2 by high-energy milling and the microstructural changes with the increase in sintering temperature. The results indicated that grinding media of smaller diameters had higher efficiency in high-energy milling due to smaller mean particle size obtained by grinding and subsequent final reduction in the average size of carbides. The sintering time had a direct influence on the microstructure of the material, higher sintering times led to formation of lower bainite, after cooling from sintering temperature.

Sintering of AISI M2 Tool Steel Processed in High-Energy Planetary Mill

This work aimed to evaluate the effect of pre-sintering annealing heat treatments and sintering times in AISI M2 high-speed steel powders processed by high energy milling. Turning chips were obtained from an AISI M2 drill bit that was annealed during 2 hours at 900°C, under argon atmosphere, before machining. Subsequently, the chips were milled during 10 hours in a high energy planetary mill with a power ratio of 10:1, also under argon atmosphere. Half of the powder mass was annealed at 650oC during 30 minutes under argon atmosphere after milling. Three different samples were prepared, consisting of: non-annealed powder, annealed powder and a mixture 1:1 of annealed and non-annealed powders. All powders were compacted by uniaxial pressing before sintered. Compressibility curves were obtained for all samples. Sintering process was conducted at 1200°C during 1, 2 and 3 hours and samples were cooled inside the furnace. The annealed powder sample presented the best compactation behavior, due to its restored ductility, followed by the 1:1 mixture of annealed and non-annealed powders. The microstructure of sintered samples displayed a ferritic matrix surrounded by carbide networks at grain boundaries. Higher sintering times resulted in carbon impoverishing, leading to lower volume fractions of carbides and hence reducing its hardness. Non-annealed powders showed higher dependency of sintering time to reduce their porosity. The best results were obtained for the annealed powder with shorter sintering time, since it presented low volume fraction of porosities and smaller grain sizes.

Comparative Study of Mechanical Activation Improved by High Energy Ball Mills in Chromium Oxide Reduction

The processes of high-energy milling and gained importance among the unconventional methods. In this work, we seek to compare the power supply two types of high energy mills (vibratory mill (SPEX) and planetary mill) with the variation of the milling power. The millings were carried out with a mixture of chromium oxide and aluminum metalic. The reduction of chromium oxide does not occur instantaneously, but gradually as the progress of milling with mechanical activation of powders, this mechanical activation occurs leading to the solid state reaction occurs. The results were obtained for thermal analysis of the samples. The energy released varies, exhibiting a maximum mechanical activation for the range of powers milling studied. The correlation between the energy mills can be made by identifying the milling power is reached at which the maximum in each mechanical activation mill and quantifying this activation.

Obtainment of a NiCrNbC Alloy by Mechanical Alloying

The present work investigate the possibility of obtainment by mechanical alloying of Ni superalloys based on the Ni-Cr-Nb-C system strengthened by γ”(Ni3Nb), since γ”(Ni3Nb) as γ’ (Ni3Al) are typical coherent phase strengthening mechanisms in nickel superalloys. In order to evaluate this possibility, a composition with 71,65wt%Ni, 7,90wt%Cr, 20,00wt%Nb and 0,45wt%C was processed in a SPEX mill by 8 hours, consolidated and sintered at different temperatures (1200oC, 1250oC and 1300oC). The powder processed by MA and the sintered products were characterized by x-ray diffraction, SEM and EDS.

Study of Sintering of Iron Powder Bars Processed by Equal Channel Angular Pressing

The main aim of this work is to show porosity evolution during application of various processing conditions to a high-purity (99.7 wt.%) iron powder, including compacting, sintering and equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). Iron powder bars with dimensions of 8x8x30 mm and 8x8x10 mm were axially pressed with pressures ranging from 100MPa to 250MPa, followed by sintering at 1100oC during 30 minutes under argon atmosphere. Sintered bars were processed by ECAP at room temperature in a single pass, using a SAE 1045 steel die with an internal angle of 120o. Microstructural characterization was performed by light optical microscopy (LOM) and quantitative stereology. ECAP processing resulted in a substantial reduction in the porosity levels for specimens pressed at 100 MPa and 150 MPa. The sample compacted with 150MPa and processed by ECAP with back-pressure showed the lowest volume fraction of porosity. Higher compacting pressures caused an increase in porosity levels. This result is explained by presence of cracks prior to ECAP and the concurrent action of severe stress-strain states during extrusion.

Effects of Multiple Pre-Sintering Heat Treatments and Consolidations Applied to Nicralc Alloys Processed by Mechanical Alloying

NiCrAlC alloys are economical alternatives nickel superalloys to Co family StellitesTM alloys, they are constituted by a dispersion of chromium carbides in a Ni3Al (γ’) intermetallic matrix. Mechanical Alloying (MA) allows better control of the carbides size and distribution in NiCrAlC matrix after sintering, although high porosity has been observed after uniaxial compaction and sintering of NiCrAlC alloys processed by MA. This research investigated the employment viability of pre-sintering heat-treatments followed by a new uniaxial compression in order to reduce porosity after final sintering. The characterization of the processed material by optical metallography and quantitative stereography appoints to the viability of this conception to reduce the porosity of NiCrAlC alloys processed by Mechanical Alloying.

Syntesis of Niobium Nitride Using Cryogenic Milling

In the present paper a preliminary study was performed on the influence of mechanical milling on the synthesis of niobium nitrade. The niobium metal powder sample, passing # 635 mesh sieve, was processed by mechanical milling in SPEX mill for 8 hours using a ball-to-powder ratio of 7:1 and a nitrogen atmosphere. The powder was annealed at different temperatures, 900 °C, 1000 °C, 1100 °C and 1200 °C for 1 hour in a hydrogen and argon atmosphere to study their crystallization, which then were formed into blanks for analysis of the compressibility curves. These samples were also subjected to X-ray diffraction and the data were compared between the annealing temperatures. The compressibility curves of niobium samples with and without grinding were also evaluated, showing high compacting capacity. These samples were subjected to X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence. As the formation of nitrides (Nb2N) was observed in SPEX type mill, the interest in studying the synthesis of nitrides came up, using mechanical milling in Attritor type mill. Same previous results of Attritor processing indicate a Nb2N and NbN synthesis after annealing treatments.