Production of pre-alloyed metal powders by atomization for application in the manufacture of tablets for addition of alloying elements in aluminum metal baths

• Grant number: 01/03209-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: January 01, 2002
• End date: June 30, 2005
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Transformation Metallurgy
• Principal Investigator: Lucio Salgado
• Grantee: Lucio Salgado
• Company: Mextra Engenharia Extrativa de Metais Ltda (MEXTRA)
• City: Diadema

Abstract

The addition of alloying elements in metal baths can be achieved using carriers contained in the mother alloys obtained by smelting or, as is becoming more widely used, by means of powder mixtures, in the form of tablets or briquettes. In the specific case of aluminum alloys, normally mixtures of aluminum powder are used with powders of the alloying element one wishes to add, such as iron, chrome, nickel, copper, manganese, etc. These tablets must perform well in the dissolution of the alloying element, that is, they must provide a good yield so that as much as possible of the alloying element is incorporated into the liquid aluminum. This project aims to develop the process for manufacturing powders of metal alloys by water atomization, the main purpose of which is the production of these tablets. The idea is to add value to the tablets by means of manufacturing a powder with the final desired composition, normally in the range of 70 to 90 per cent of the alloying element (the remainder aluminum), which could minimize or dispense altogether with the use of elemental powders. In phase 1 of the project the atomization parameters were defined for the preparation of the metal alloys. Phase 2 is planning to install an industrial unit with capacity for the production of 200 tons per month of the Fe- 10%AI alloy. In this phase, studies will be carried out to optimize the manufacturing process of the powder and the tablets. (AU)