Production of spherical TiAl alloy powder by copper-assisted spheroidization

Abstract

A copper-assisted spheroidization method was developed for preparing spherical intermetallic compound TiAl powder. By introducing copper into TiAl alloy, the brittle L21 Heusler structure TiAlCu2 alloy with low melting point (1050 °C) was produced. After preparing the spherical TiAlCu2 powder through solid–liquid interface de-wetting method, the porous TiAl alloy sphere with atomic ratio about 1:1 was prepared by dealloying the Cu element. Finally, the spherical TiAl alloy powder was prepared by sintering and deoxygenation. Compared with the current mature technology for preparing the spherical TiAl alloy powder, the size distribution of spherical particles can be easily regulated, which can meet the requirements for high-quality additive manufacturing technology. We believe that this method provides a new idea for preparing the spherical TiAl alloy powder and other spherical porous alloys.

Keywords

• Spherical TiAl powder
• Solid–liquid interface de-wetting
• Copper-assisted spheroidization
• Low melting point
• Sintering