The manufacturing method of niobium base alloy, especially the manufacturing method of Nb-Ti, Nb-Ti-Zr, Nb-Ti-Ta and other alloys as superconducting electrical materials, the manufacturing method of the invention mainly includes mixing, pressing, sintering and melting of niobium hydride powder and one or several powders of titanium, tantalum, zirconium and hafnium. Sintering process is divided into low temperature hydrogen removal and high temperature sintering two stages. Adopting the method is beneficial to improve the uniformity of alloy and the process is simple. Direct hydrogenation of niobium ingot to produce hydrogenated niobium powder can obviously improve the utilization rate of metal.
Raw materials niobium and titanium are processed into plates, and then interlayer, after welding positioning into electrodes. As niobium and titanium are processed into plates, the process is complicated, the metal utilization rate is low, and the material is vulnerable to pollution. In the smelting process, niobium non - fusible block is easy to appear. The fabrication method of niobium alloy is to add a certain proportion of niobium scrap and sponge Ti into the container of plasma furnace in batches, and then melt the alloy electrode by plasma arc heating, and then melt it by electric arc furnace. The alloy made in this way has small segregation, but the shapely raw material is susceptible to oxygen, iron, silicon and other impurities pollution, and is not easy to clean, smelting gas volume is large, plasma arc is unstable, metal splash.
The invention relates to a process of powder preparation of niobium base alloy. Niobium ingot was first rolled into plate, niobium plate hydrogenated, broken into powder, after the removal of hydrogen niobium powder mixed with titanium powder pressed into electrode, at least twice through the arc furnace melting into alloy ingot. The process in addition to the high purity niobium ingot rolled into plate loss, complex process, after the addition of hydrogen niobium powder to seal storage, long time use of niobium powder is easy to inhale pollution. And pressed electrode density is low, low strength, poor electrical conductivity, large gas content, melting metal splash, arc instability, electricity is easy to fall off, the uniformity of components does not meet the requirements of some special needs.
The manufacturing method of niobium alloy mainly includes mixing niobium hydride powder with titanium, tantalum, zirconium, hafnium or some of the powder, pressing into electrode, sintering after melting into alloy. Smelting can be carried out in a vacuum arc furnace or in a plasma furnace.
In order to reduce the non-fusible lump of metal with high melting point, the particle size of metal with high melting point should be smaller than that of metal with low melting point. The particle size of low melting point metal powder should be less than 20 mesh, which will affect the uniformity of the final alloy.
