PARAMETERS CONTROLLING THE MILLING PROCESS APPLIED TO THE PRODUCTION OF AL-CU-MG-SI ALLOYS (2214) BY MECHANICAL ALLOYING

In this study are analysed the respective influence of various paramet ers (processing time t(p), speed of rotation omega of the attritor axi s and ratio R: the ball to powder masses) on the mechanical alloying p rocess applied to mixed powders in order to obtain Al-Cu-Mg-Si alloys (2214 type). It was deduced that the most effective parameter is omega . Furthermore the optimum processing conditions were determined as wel l as the main characteristics of the powder resulting from the milling process using microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The sintering ability of samples pressed from ''MA'' powders was also studied thanks to dil atometric tests and compared with that of initial powder mixtures. A r elationship between the size reduction of Al particles and the milling parameters is established.