Effect of carbon on the density, microstructure and hardness of alloys formed by mechanical alloying.

Highlights: [•] We report steel alloys with several C contents obtained by mechanical alloying. [•] Increasing C content affected alloy compressibility and decreased green density. [•] Increasing C content increased hardness but decreased ductility of the alloys. [•] The maximum theoretical densification was obtained at 500MPa and 0.5% C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]