Shape-controlled synthesis of novel precursor for fibrous Ni-Co alloy powders

A novel precursor of nickel-cobalt alloy powders with an appropriate Ni to Co molar ratio was prepared under selectively synthetic conditions. The composition and morphology of the precursor were characterized by X-ray diffractometry （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry （FT-IR） and energy dispersive spectrometry （EDS）. The effects of pH value, reaction temperature, metal ion concentrations and surfactant on the morphology and the dispersion of precursor were investigated. The results show that the morphology of precursor depends on ammonia content in the precursor. A fibriform precursor is a complicated ammonia-containing nickel-cobalt oxalate. The uniform shape-controlled fibrous precursor is obtained under the following optimum conditions： ammonia as complex agent as well as pH adjustor, oxalate as coprecipitator, 50-65 °C of reaction temperature, 0.5-0.8 mol/L of total concentration of Ni2＋ and Co2＋, PVP as dispersant, and pH 8.0-8.4.

Electrodeposition of La-Ni Alloy Powders in Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)

The brown metallic luster La-Ni alloy powders were prepared by potentiostatic electrolysis technique in dimethylsulfoxide solution at room temperature. The atomic rate of La and Ni in alloy powders are 11∶1 and 10∶1. The size of metal grains is about 0.1 to 100 μm. It shows that the micrometer powders of rare earth alloys can be obtained by controlling electrodeposition conditions. The peak potentials of -2.81 and 1.75 V are attributed to reduction of La 3+ and Ni 3+ ions, respectively. The peak potentials at -2.20 and -0.168 V are the oxidation peaks of lanthanum and nickel, respectively. When potential is more negative than -1.74 V, La(Ⅲ) and Ni(Ⅱ) will codeposit. Increasing cyclic times, the value of peak current is decreasing, and the reduction peak of La(Ⅲ) was finally disappeared.

Influence of Ni^(2+)/Co^(2+)ratio in electrolyte on morphology,structure and magnetic properties of electrolytically produced Ni-Co alloy powders

Nickel-cobalt(Ni-Co) alloy powders were produced galvanostatically by using sulphate electrolytes with various ratios of Ni2+/Co2+(mole ratios). The morphology, phase structure, chemical composition and magnetic properties were examined by scanning electron microscope(SEM), X-ray diffractometer(XRD), atomic emission spectrometer(AES), and SQUID-based magnetometer, respectively. Morphology of the particles changed from cauliflower-like and dendritic to coral-like and spongy-like ones with increasing Ni2+/Co2+ ratio from 0.25 to 4.0. XRD analysis of the Ni-Co powders revealed that the decrease of Ni2+/Co2+ ratios(the increase of Co content) caused a change of structure from face centered cubic(FCC) obtained for the ratios of 4.0, 1.5 and 0.67 to a mixture of FCC and hexagonal closed-packed(HCP) phases for the ratio of 0.25. The increasing content of nickel led to change of mechanism of electrolysis from irregular(up to 40 wt.% Ni in the electrolytes) to close to equilibrium(between 40 and 60 wt.% Ni in the electrolytes) and anomalous co-deposition(over 60 wt.% Ni in the electrolytes) type. All of the obtained Ni-Co alloy samples behaved as soft magnetic materials while their magnetic parameters showed immediate composition dependence since both coercivity and saturation magnetization almost linearly increased with increase of the Co content.

A Study of Making Iron Aluminide Alloy Powders with New Rotating Electrode Technology

A new process was used for producing FeAl alloy pow de rs with double consumable rotating electrodes and the powders made in this appar atus were analyzed. In this new technology, tungsten rod serves as a cathode ele ctrode, while the alloy rod as an anode electrode. The conventional rotating ele ctrode process must have an anode with pre-melting alloys; however, in this new process, using pure iron as cathode electrode and pure aluminum as anode electr ode can eliminate the step of pre-melting. The effects of process variables, which include electrode rotational speed, a nd electrode diameter of the mean particle diameter were determined. Results showed that both the rotational speed and diameter of electrodes would a ffect the mean diameter of particles. There are three kinds of powders with diff erent composition produced in this study and the possible mechanisms are discuss ed. The process parameters and volume mean diameter of the powders have been cor related to find an experimental equation. The results show that when the rotational speed and the diameter of the anode el ectrode are increased, the powders size will decrease. However, the powders size will increase with cathode electrode.

THE PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF ELECTROPLATEDSHEET CONTAINING RS ALUMINUM ALLOY POWDERS

Baded on the study of nickel electroplating technology at room temperature, the plated sheet containing rapidly solidified Al-Fe-Cu- V-Si-Ni-Ce-Zr aluminum alloy powders is constructed successfully. The powders and nickel matrix are combined well in the sheet. It can be used to prepare the observation specimen for TEM and determine the hardness of single powder particle as solidified and after heat-treated. The advantages of this method are the realization of heat treatment of powders and the TEM observation of non-interfered microstructure of powders in the size of several microns.

EFFECT OF OXIDE LAYER THICKNESS OVER Al AND Al ALLOY POWDERS ON QUALITY OF THEIR EXPLOSIVE COMPACTS

Observations of microstructure of explosive compacts made of Al or Al-Li alloy powders by atomization with water,nitrogen or ultrasoic Ar gas were carried out under optical and scanning electron microscopes.The rsults indicate that super quality explosive compact can only be obtained by powders of which the thickness of the oxide layer is less than 30 nm.

Hot Hydrostatic Extrusion of Mechanically Alloyed Al-4.9Fe-4.9Ni Powders

Al-4.9 Fe-4.9 Ni alloy powders have been synthesized by mechanical alloying. The rnechanically alloyed powders are consolidated by hot hydrostatic extrusion. The results show that extrusion tempereture. extrusion ratio and lubricant have great effects on the quality of extruded rods and their mechanical properties, The mixture of graphite and glass powders as lubricant can prevent the oxidization of cold compacted billet by cladding the billet with this lubricant before heating. This technique greatly simplifies the conventional densification process of powders

Formation Mechanism of NiAl/TiB_2 Nanocomposite by Mechanical Alloying Elemental Powders

A NiAl/TiB2 nanocomposite is synthesized by mechanical alloying elemental powders. Upon milling for a certain time, an abrupt exothermic reaction occurs and a large amount of NiAl and TiB2 compounds form simultaneously. It is suggested that two separate chemical reactions,i.e. Ni+Al →NiAl and Ti+2B→TiB2, are involved during the exothermic reaction. Additionof Ti and B to Ni-Al system impedes the structural evolution of Ni and Al powders and delays the abrupt reaction. The final products are equilibrium phases without any metastable phases formed. This type of reaction is suggested to be suitable for alloy systems with two large heatrelease reactions.

Mechanical alloying characteristic and thermal stability of Al_(78)Fe_(20)Zr_2 amorphous powders

The powders of pure Al, Fe, and Zr for preparing Al78Fe20Zr2 were subject to a high-energy planetary ball milling.The microstructure evolution of the mixtures at the different intervals of milling was characterized by X-ray diffraction（XRD）, transmission electron microscopy（TEM） and differential scanning calorimetry（DSC）.It was found that a nearly complete amorphization could be achieved in the mixtures after ball milling for 23 h.Further ball milling led to the crystallization of the amorphous powders.A long time ball milling, e.g., 160 h, led to a complete crystallization of the amorphous powders and the formation of Al3Zr and Al13Fe4.The crystallization products caused by ball milling are almost the same as that produced by isothermal annealing of the amorphous powders in vacuum at 800 K for 1 h.

Role of Disclinations and Nanocrystalline State in the Formation of Quasicrystalline Phases on Mechanical Alloying of Cu-Fe Powders

Elemental powders of Cu and Fe were ball milled for various time durations up to 100 h. The various stages of forced alloying by ball milling, leading to instability of elemental crystalline phases and formation of quasicrystalline phases were monitored using X-ray diffraction. Diffusion of Fe into the Cu matrix is proposed as the cause which triggers the instability of crystalline phases and leads to the formation of quasicrystalline phases after 10 h of milling. Milling for 100 h resulted in two different quasicrystalline phases with different lattice constants. Role of the nanocrystalline microstructure as an important criterion for the destabilisation of crystalline phases is explained. It is suggested that the formation of nanocrystalline microstructure and their subsequent transformation into quasicrystalline phases may be associated with a continuous increase in the disclination content of the system, which had formed as a result of continued milling and mechanical deformation.

Preparation of ultra-fine fibrous Fe-Ni alloy powder by coordinated co-precipitation-direct reduction process

The precursor prepared by coordinated co-precipitation was direct reduced by hydrogen to ultra-fine fibrous Fe-Ni alloy powder. The effects of concentrations of reactants, pH value, reaction temperature and additive on the preparation of precursor were systematically investigated. The structures, thermal decomposition processes and morphologies of the precursors were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravity-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and scanning electron microscoy (SEM). The results show that using 2% polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) (in mass fraction) as additive, a well-dispersed precursor with a uniform morphology can be obtained in a solution with Fe2+ and Ni2+ total concentration (1:1) of 0.8 mol/L, pH value of 6.2 at 60 °C, and a pure and well dispersed fibrous iron-nickel powder can be prepared by direct reduction of this precursor in a mixed atmosphere of nitrogen and hydrogen at the temperature of 420 °C.

Microstructure and Tribological Properties of Fe-Cr-B-Si-based Alloy Coating on the Surface of Scraper Conveyor Middle Trough NM450

This paper aims to develop a surface modification process to improve the surface properties of the middle trough.The coatings were prepared by plasma cladding with Fe-Cr-B-Si-based alloy powders (Ig 6 and Ig7).The organizational structure and micro-hardness of the coatings were analyzed by laboratory equipments.The friction and wear tests were performed to investigate the friction-wear properties of middle trough.The coatings have higher hardness and good friction-wear properties than the substrate.The hardness and friction wear properties of the coating with Ig7 powder are better than those with Ig6 powder.The experimental results show that the surface properties of the middle trough are improved by Fe-Cr-B-Si-based alloy coating,which can improve the middle trough service life.The plasma cladding can be widely used in the surface-modification of middle trough to reduce the waste of resources.

Microstructural evolution of gas atomized Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr powders during semi-solid rolling process

Under H2 atmosphere, the green strips were prepared from Al-5.8Zn-1.63Mg-2.22Cu-0.12Zr(mass fraction, %) powders by the semi-solid rolling process with a relative density from 76.1% to 88.0%. The role of temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties was investigated. With increasing rolling temperature from 580 to 610 °C, the disappearance of primary powder boundary and isolated pores, inter-diffusion of species and the change of grain boundary were accelerated. Moreover, the mechanism of microstructure evolution changes from the densification dominant regime to the coarsening dominant regime; the amount of η(MgZn2) phase decreased and more Al2 Cu particles precipitated at grain boundaries. The optimum temperature for semi-solid rolling of Al-5.8Zn-1.63Mg-2.22Cu-0.12 Zr powders was determined. The liquid fraction in the range of 53% to 67% corresponds with a high density level of green strips. The present experimental analysis suggests that semi-solid powder rolling can be optimized to manufacture strips with high mechanical properties.

CHARACTERISTICS OF FATIGUE SURFACE MICROCRACK GROWTH IN VICINAL INCLUSION FOR POWDER METALLURGY ALLOYS

Inclusion flaw is one of the worst flaws of powder metallurgy.The inclusion flaw plays an important role in the failure of high temperature turbine materials in aircraft components and automotive parts,especially fatigue failure.In this paper,an experimental investigation of fatigue microcrack propagation in the vicinal inclusion were carried out by the servo-hydraulic fatigue test system with scanning electron microscope(SEM).It has been found from the SEM images that the fatigue surface microcrack occurs in the matrix and inclusion.According to the SEM images,the characteristics of fatigue crack initiation and growth in vicinal inclusion for powder metallurgy alloys are analyzed in detail.The effect of the geometrical shape and material type of surface inclusions on the cracking is also discussed with the finite element method(FEM).

Improvement of Ductility of Powder Metallurgy Titanium Alloys by Addition of Rare Earth Element

Ti-4.5Al-6.0Mo-1.5Fe, Ti-6Al-1Mo-1Fe and Ti-6Al-4V alloys were prepared by blended elemental powder metallurgy （PM） process, and the effects of Nd on the microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. It was found out that the addition of Nd increased the density of sintered titanium alloys slightly by a maximum increment of 1% because small amount of liquid phase occurred during sintering. The addition of Nd shows little effect on the improvement of tensile strength, while the elongation is significantly improved. For example, the elongation of Ti-4.SAl-6.0Mo-1.5Fe can be increased from 1% without addition of Nd to 13% at a Nd content of 1.2 wt pct.

Characteristics and Microstructure of a Hypereutectic Al-Si Alloy Powder by Ultrasonic Gas Atomization Process

A hypereutectic Al-Si alloy powder was prepared by ultrasonic gas atomization process. The morphologies, microstructure and phase constituent of the alloy powder were studied. The results showed that powder of the alloy was very fine and its microstructure was mainly consisted of Si crystals plus intermetallic compound A19FeSi3, which were.very fine and uniformly distributed.

Processing TiAl-Based Alloy by Elemental Powder Metallurgy

TiAI-based alloys with various compositions (including Ti-48Al, Ti-47Al-2Cr-2Nb, Ti-47Al-2Cr-2Nb-0.2B and Ti-47Al-3Cr, in mole fraction) had been prepared by elemental powder metallurgy (EPM). The results have shown that the density of the prepared Ti-48AI alloy increases with increasing hot pressing temperature up to 1300℃. The Ti-48AI alloy microstructure mainly consisted of island-like Ti3Al phase and TiAl matrix at hot pressing temperature below 1300℃, however, coarse α2/γ lamellar colonies and γ grains appeared at 1400℃. It has also indicated that the additions of elemental Cr and B can refine the alloy microstructure. The main microstructural inhomogeneity in EPM TiAI-based alloys was the island-like α2 phase or the aggregate of α2/γ lamellar colony, and such island-like structure will be inherited during subsequent heat treatment in (α＋γ) field. Only after heat treatment in a field would this structure be eliminated. The mechanical properties of EPM TiAl-based alloys with various compositions were tested, and the effect of alloy elements on the mechanical properties was closely related to that of alloy elements on the alloy microstructures. Based on the above results, TiAI-based alloy exhaust valves were fabricated by elemental powder metallurgy and diffusion joining. The automobile engine test had demonstrated that the performance of the manufactured valves was very promising for engine service.

Effect of ball milling time on microstructures and mechanical properties of mechanically-alloyed iron-based materials

The microstructures and mechanical properties of an iron-based alloy (Fe-13Cr-3W-0.4Ti-0.25Y-0.30O) prepared by mechanical alloying were investigated with scanning electron microscope,optical microscope,X-ray diffractometer and hardness tester.The results show that the particle size does not decrease with milling time because serious welding occurs at 144 h.The density of the alloy sintered at 1 523 K is affected by the particle size of the powder.Finer particles lead to a high sintered density,while the bulk density by using particles milled for 144 h is as low as 70%.In the microstructures of the annealed alloy,large elongated particles and fine equiaxed grains can be detected.The elongated particle zone has a higher microhardness than the equiaxed grain area in the annealed alloys due to the larger residual strain and higher density of the precipitated phase.

Theoretical and experimental investigation of Ti alloy powder production using low-power plasma torches

This study was carried out to investigate the possibility of titanium alloy metal powder production using low-power plasma torches.An argon DC non-transferred arc plasma torch was designed,and numerical analysis was conducted to determine the plasma jet properties and wire temperature.The highest velocities inside the nozzle attachment were between 838 and 1178 m/s.The velocities of the jets at the apex were between 494 and 645 m/s for different gas flow rates.The studied plasma gas flow rates had no significant effect on the effective plasma jet length.It was shown that the plasma jet length can be estimated by numerical analysis using the temperature and velocity changes of the plasma jet over distance.It was observed that the powders produced were spherical without any satellites.As a result of this study,a plasma torch was developed and powder production was performed successfully by using relatively low torch power.

Mechanical and ballistic properties of powder metal 7039 aluminium alloy joined by friction stir welding

7039 Al alloy plates which were used as armor materials were produced by powder metallurgy method. The prepared mixed powders were pressed and plated by extrusion process. These plates, after being subjected to T6 heat treatment, were joined double-sided by friction stir welding method. Microstructure and microhardness of the welded plate were investigated. It was determined that the finest grain structure and the lowest hardness value occurred in the stir zone as 2-6 mm and HV 80.9, respectively. In order to determine the ballistic properties of welded plates, 7.62 mm armor piercing projectiles were shot to the base metal（BM）, heat affected zone（HAZ）, and thermomechanically affected zone＋stir zone（TMAZ＋SZ）. Ballistic limits（v_（50）） of these zones were determined. The ballistic limits of the BM, TMAZ＋SZ, and HAZ of the plate were approximately 14.7%, 15.3%, and 17.9% lower than that of the standard plate at the same thickness, respectively. It was determined that the armor piercing projectiles created petaling and ductile hole enlargement failure types at the armor plate. Ballistic and mechanical results can be enhanced by hot-cold rolling mills after extrusion and particle reinforcement.