Ball milling of an equiatomic sigma--feV alloy in vacuum

A coarse-grained tetragonal sigma phase Fe47.4V52.6 at% alloy was ground in vacuum in a vibratory mill. The sigma phase transforms into a bcc alpha phase. A concomitant partial amorphization of the bcc phase occurs. The near-equiatomic FeV alloys are concluded to behave in the same way as the related FeCr alloys when they are ball-milled in vacuum in similar milling conditions. In the stationary state of milling, about half of the iron atoms are contained in an amorphous phase both for sigma-FeCr and for sigma-FeV.