TY - JOUR
T1 - Production of gas-atomized aluminum alloy powders for metal additive manufacturing processes
AU - Wang, Muh Rong
AU - Huang, Yang Sheng
AU - Tseng, Wei Chieh
AU - Lai, Kuan Lan
AU - Hwang, Sheng Jye
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society. All right reserved.
PY - 2015/12/1
Y1 - 2015/12/1
N2 - Light alloys, such as aluminum or titanium alloys, have potential applications in the automotive and aerospace industries due to their low density and high specific strength. Gas-assisted atomization processes have been widely used in the industrial production of metal powders. The benefits of using gas-atomized metal powders in MAM (metal additive manufacturing) processes have been explored in recent studies. In this paper, a novel gas-assisted nozzle, which is designed with an internal melt pre-filming mechanism, is proposed to control the largest size of the gas-atomized aluminum powders. The atomization performance of this nozzle is investigated, and the powder size distribution is measured by a Coulter LS230 particle sizer. The results show that the particle size of the gas-atomized powders deceases as the atomization gas pressure increases. The gas-to-melt mass ratio is 0.24 under an atomization gas pressure of 5 bar. A mean particle size (D50) of 18.0 μm and maximum particle size (D90) of 35.9 μm have been achieved under a gas atomization pressure of 5 bar. The as-atomized AlSilOMg alloy powders produced in this work are able to meet the requirements of MAM processes.
AB - Light alloys, such as aluminum or titanium alloys, have potential applications in the automotive and aerospace industries due to their low density and high specific strength. Gas-assisted atomization processes have been widely used in the industrial production of metal powders. The benefits of using gas-atomized metal powders in MAM (metal additive manufacturing) processes have been explored in recent studies. In this paper, a novel gas-assisted nozzle, which is designed with an internal melt pre-filming mechanism, is proposed to control the largest size of the gas-atomized aluminum powders. The atomization performance of this nozzle is investigated, and the powder size distribution is measured by a Coulter LS230 particle sizer. The results show that the particle size of the gas-atomized powders deceases as the atomization gas pressure increases. The gas-to-melt mass ratio is 0.24 under an atomization gas pressure of 5 bar. A mean particle size (D50) of 18.0 μm and maximum particle size (D90) of 35.9 μm have been achieved under a gas atomization pressure of 5 bar. The as-atomized AlSilOMg alloy powders produced in this work are able to meet the requirements of MAM processes.
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M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84979084580
SN - 0257-9731
VL - 36
SP - 557
EP - 561
JO - Journal of the Chinese Society of Mechanical Engineers, Transactions of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, Series C/Chung-Kuo Chi Hsueh Kung Ch'eng Hsuebo Pao
JF - Journal of the Chinese Society of Mechanical Engineers, Transactions of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, Series C/Chung-Kuo Chi Hsueh Kung Ch'eng Hsuebo Pao
IS - 6
ER -