A New Method for Preparing Titanium Aluminium Alloy Powder
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Method
2.1. Materials
2.2. Introduction to AlCl3 and Selection of AlCl3-KCl Molten Salt Ratio
- (1)
- Physical properties of AlCl3
- (2)
- Basic Physical Properties of AlCl3-KCl Mixed Molten Salt
2.3. Methods
2.4. Analysis
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Phase Analysis of Reactants at Different Temperatures
3.2. Effect of Reduction Temperature
3.3. Analysis of the AlCl3&KCl-Molten-Salt-Assisted Magnesium Thermal Reduction Process
3.4. Product Analysis and Comparison
4. Conclusions
- (1)
- Through the study of the basic physical properties of the AlCl3 and AlCl3&KCl, it was found that the density of the AlCl3 decreased from 1.3 g·cm−3 to 1 g·cm−3 in the temperature range of 460–560 °C, and the viscosity also decreased from 0.34 Pa·s to 0.27 Pa·s with the temperature. For AlCl3&KCl eutectic salts, when the KCl content is 20 wt% and 33.33 wt%, the density of the AlCl3&KCl decreases from 1.65 g·cm−3 to below 1.5 g·cm−3 within the range of 350–850 °C. However, when the KCl content is 50 wt% and 66.66 wt%, the temperature has little effect on the density change of the AlCl3&KCl, with a density of approximately 2 g·cm−3. To reduce the volatilization of the AlCl3, the experiment selected a mass ratio of 0.65 for the AlCl3/(AlCl3+KCl) as the selected eutectic salt ratio.
- (2)
- Using TiO2 as the raw material, magnesium thermal reduction experiments were conducted in a AlCl3&KCl molten salt medium, to clarify the reaction action and sequence of AlCl3 during the reaction process. During the magnesium thermal reduction process, Mg preferentially reacts with AlCl3 at 400–1000 °C to generate metal Al, which reacts with TiO2, and generates TiAl3 alloy powder at 750–950 °C.
- (3)
- When the experimental temperature is within the range of 750–950 °C, the products of the AlCl3&KCl molten-salt-assisted magnesium thermal reduction gradually form a TiAl alloy from the TiAl3 alloy at 750 °C to 950 °C. The oxygen content also increases from 4.23 wt% at 750 °C, to 11.23 wt% at 950 °C, and the final powder oxygen content also increases with the extension of the reduction time. After 4 h of reaction at 750 °C, the oxygen content reaches approximately 8.5 wt%, and the reaction temperature is at 950 °C; after 4 h of reaction time, it will cause an increase in, and adhesion of, the Al2O3 in the product. The optimal reaction time for this process is 2 h, and the reaction temperature is 750 °C. TiAl3 alloy powders with Ti, Al, and O contents of 28.41 wt%, 67.68 wt%, and 3.91 wt% can be obtained, respectively. The powder particle size is concentrated at around 450 μm.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Mol % KCl | a | b·10−3 | Standard Error |
---|---|---|---|
20.00 | 2.0252 | −1.0038 | 0.11% |
33.33 | 1.9889 | −0.7901 | 0.14% |
50.03 | 1.9556 | −0.6622 | 0.05% |
66.66 | 1.9734 | −0.6101 | 0.02% |
Ti | Al | O |
---|---|---|
28.41 | 67.68 | 3.91 |
Method | Features | Advantages | Disadvantages |
---|---|---|---|
Perform reduction process (PRP) [39] | Ca as a reducing agent | Complete reaction with a high recovery rate | Unable to apply on a large scale |
SHS process [40] | Spontaneous reaction through the heating agent | Efficiency, high energy consumption, and low consumption | Uncontrollable reaction process |
Two-stage thermite process [41] | Reduction using Na2TiF6 as a raw material | Short process and low energy consumption | Multiple reactions |
AlCl3&KCl-molten-salt assisted magnesium thermal reduction | Low temperature, AlCl3&KCl as the reaction medium | Low energy consumption, controllable reaction | AlCl3 volatilization |
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Kang, J.; Cui, Y.; Zhong, D.; Qiu, G.; Lv, X. A New Method for Preparing Titanium Aluminium Alloy Powder. Metals 2023, 13, 1436. https://doi.org/10.3390/met13081436
Kang J, Cui Y, Zhong D, Qiu G, Lv X. A New Method for Preparing Titanium Aluminium Alloy Powder. Metals. 2023; 13(8):1436. https://doi.org/10.3390/met13081436
Chicago/Turabian StyleKang, Jialong, Yaoran Cui, Dapeng Zhong, Guibao Qiu, and Xuewei Lv. 2023. "A New Method for Preparing Titanium Aluminium Alloy Powder" Metals 13, no. 8: 1436. https://doi.org/10.3390/met13081436