Molecular simulation of amorphization by mechanical alloying

Mechanical alloying is studied through molecular statics simulations, focusing on the process of amorphization of a binary system through extensive plastic straining. We identify a broad range of compositions that demonstrate full amorphization after sufficient plastic straining. We also develop dimensionless variables to describe the microstructural length scale, as well as the degree of atomic-level mixing, and show that data for many compositions and layer geometries can be described by a simple scaling law. This analysis reveals that amorphization occurs concurrently with the attainment of a perfectly mixed alloy, which in turn occurs when all elemental phases have been refined to the length scale of a single atom. All of these results agree with mechanical alloying experiments described in the literature, and suggest new approaches to better compare independent experiments.