Nanopowder Produced from Machining Chips of Ti6Al4V: Effect of Ball-to-Powder Weight Ratio in the Mechanical Alloying Process

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

seyyed amirreza alavizadeh ¹

Sevda Teimourpour ¹

mehrdad shahbaz ¹

majid kavanlouei ¹

hossein abdollahi ²

¹ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Urmia University,

² Department of Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Urmia University,

10.22067/jmme.2025.95283.1221

Abstract

This study aims to optimize the recycling process of Ti6Al4V machining waste by investigating mechanical milling as a novel approach for producing nanopowders. The Ti6Al4V chips were subjected to planetary ball milling. The effect of varying the weight ratio of milling balls with two different sizes (14 and 10 mm) on the morphology, crystallite size, and phase composition of the resulting powders, while keeping the total ball weight constant at 25-75, 50-50, and 75-25 ratios, was examined. The produced powders were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX). XRD results revealed that the milled powders contained titanium oxide phases, along with minor iron impurities, and had crystallite sizes of less than 100 nm. Furthermore, the quantitative phase fractions and crystallite sizes of the powders were determined by the Rietveld refinement method. An increased proportion of smaller balls in the milling media resulted in a reduction of crystallite size and an improved particle size distribution. EDS analysis demonstrated that the milling parameters influenced the purity of the powders, with the sample produced under the 25-75 ball ratio exhibiting a titanium content of 69.9 wt%. This study highlights the feasibility of producing TiO₂ nanopowders via a cost-effective mechanical milling method while optimizing the controlling parameters, making it suitable for potential applications in industries such as paints and construction.

Keywords

Mechanical Alloying

Nanopowder

Recycling

Chips

Ti6Al4V

Subjects

• Nanomaterials

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