Deformation mechanisms at Different grain sizes in a cryogenically ball-milled Al-Mg alloy.

An Al-7.5 wt. % Mg alloy was ball-milled in liquid N2 for eight hours and its microstructures were investigated using transmission electron microscopy. Electron diffraction confirmed that the resulting powder is a supersaturated Al-Mg solid solution with a face-centered cubic structure. Three nanostructures with different grain size ranges and shapes were observed and the deformation mechanisms in these structures were found to be different. The reasons for the different deformation mechanisms were discussed. Keywords: Aluminum alloy; Cryogenic ball milling; Transmission electron microscopy; Microstructure.