Synergistic effects of Mo and Cu on glass forming ability in mechanically alloyed FeCrNiSiWNbB complex metallic compound

Abstract

Amorphous materials, due to their unique structure, have excellent thermal and magnetic properties. These materials are manufactured using different methods such as melt spinning and mechanical alloying. Among these methods, mechanical alloying is exceptionally suitable for large-scale production of amorphous materials. The purpose of this research is to assess the effect of Mo and Cu additions on the glass forming ability (GFA), magnetic properties and thermal stability of Fe-16Cr-3Ni-1.5Si-3W-1Nb-1.5B-xMo-yCu (x = 2.5, 5 and y = 0.5, 1, 1.5 wt%) amorphous mechanically alloyed ferroalloy powders for industrial application. The morphology and composition of the powders were measured by scanning electron microscopy armed with energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. Also, the phase changes were investigated using an x-ray diffraction technique. The GFA was exceedingly increased by adding Mo and Cu. Not only was the saturation magnetization (Ms) of the samples reduced, but the coercive force (Hc) also decreased with increasing Mo and Cu content. It was found that the optimal mechanically alloyed sample, containing 5 wt% Mo and 1 wt% Cu, exhibited a higher glass transition temperature (608 °C) compared to the Fe-based ferroalloy (587 °C). Ultimately, the saturation magnetization of the optimal sample decreased by 57.5 %, from 96 emu/g to 40 emu/g.