Evaluation of the milling efficiency increase of AISI 52100 steel using niobium carbide addition through high energy ball milling

The AISI 52100 is a tool-type steel and is more often used in industry for the production of bearings. After the end of its life cycle, it is discarded or remelted, but both processes are considered expensive. Thus, the possibility of reusing this material through the powder metallurgy (PM) route is considered advantageous, since it transforms a waste into another product. To obtain the starting powders, the AISI 52100 steel scrap was submitted to a process of high energy ball milling, which was milled pure and with 1 and 3 % of niobium carbide (NbC) additions. Those additions were performed w...