An equivalent time approach for scaling the mechanical alloying processes

Dynamics of a single ball into a planetary ball mill is analyzed leading to a cubic dependence of the power transferred during milling with the rotational speed, Ω. This leads to the definition of an equivalent time to describe the state of ball milled powders independently of Ω. Mechanical alloying of Fe75Ge20Nb5 composition is studied by a combination of experimental techniques (differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectrometry and vibrating sample magnetometry) and results evidence a good agreement with the predictions of the equivalent time approach.