Mechanisms and kinetics of alloying and nanostructure formation by mechanical methods

Nanocrystalline materials have become a subject of both scientific and industrial importance in the past one decade. The present paper reviews the work being carried out world over, on the synthesis of nanocrystalline metals, alloys, intermetallics and nanocomposites by mechanical means, in particular, by high energy ball milling process. Many high melting intermetallics, that are difficult to prepare by conventional processing techniques, could be easily synthesized in nanocrystalline state with homogeneous structure and composition by this route. The present understanding of the nature of these materials and the phase transitions induced during nanocrystallization are critically reviewed in the present paper