Microwave Sintering and Melting of Titanium Powder for Low-Cost Processing

Article Preview

Abstract:

The emerging reduction technologies for titanium from ore produce powder instead of sponge. Conventional methods for sintering and melting of titanium powder are costly, as they are energy intensive and require high vacuum, 10-6 Torr or better, since titanium acts as a getter for oxygen at high temperature, adversely affecting mechanical properties. Other melting processes such as plasma arcs have the additional problem of electrode consumption, and direct induction heating of the titanium powder is problematic. Microwave sintering or melting in an atmospheric pressure argon gas environment is potentially cost effective and energy efficient due to the possibility of direct microwave heating of the titanium powder augmented by hybrid heating in a ceramic casket. We are investigating this approach at the Naval Research Laboratory using an S–Band microwave system. The experimental setup and the results of melting and sintering experiments will be described including a rough estimate of energy usage.

You might also be interested in these eBooks

Info:

Periodical:

Pages:

131-140

Citation:

Online since:

May 2010

Export:

Price:

[1] Scoot Reed and Jai Narayan, Induction Skull Melting Offers Ti Investment Casting Benefits, Industrial Heating, January 10, (2001).

Google Scholar

[2] A.W. Fliflet, R.W. Bruce, R. P. Fischer, A.K. Kinkead, D. Lewis III, R. Rayne, B.A. Bender, L.K. Kurihara, G. -M. Chow, and P.E. Schoen, Application of Microwave Heating to Ceramic Processing: design and Initial Operation of a 2. 45 GHz Single-Mode Furnace, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., 24, 1041 (1996).

DOI: 10.1109/27.533111

Google Scholar

[3] D. Lewis, M. A. Imam, L.K. Kurihara, A.W. Fliflet, A. Kinkead, S. Miserendino, S. Egorov, R.W. Bruce, S. Gold, and A.M. Jung, Material Processing with a High Frequency Millimeter wave Source, Mater. Manuf. Process. 18, 151-167 (2003).

DOI: 10.1081/amp-120018902

Google Scholar

[4] D. Lewis III, M.A. Imam, A.W. Fliflet, R.W. Bruce, L.K. Kurihara, A.K. Kinkead, M. Lombardi, and S.H. Gold, Recent Advances in Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Beam Processing of Materials, Materials Science Forum vols. 539-543, pp.3249-3254, (2007).

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.539-543.3249

Google Scholar

[5] M.A. Imam, A.W. Fliflet, R. W. Bruce, C.R. Feng, C. Stephenson, A. K. Kinkeada, and S. H. Gold, Recent Advances in Microwave, Millimeter-Wave and Plasma-Assisted Processing of Materials, Materials Science Forum, vols. 638-642, pp.2052-2057 (2010).

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.638-642.2052

Google Scholar

[6] R. Roy, D. Agrawal, J. Cheng, and G. Gedevanishvili, Full Sintering of powdered-metal bodies in a Microwave Field, �ature vol. 399, pp.668-670, (1999).

DOI: 10.1038/21390

Google Scholar

[7] K.I. Bykov et al., Microwave Heating of Conductive powder Materials, J. Appl. Phys. vol. 99, 023506 (2006).

Google Scholar