Design and Feasibility of the Preparation Process of Tantalum–Aluminum Alloy
摘要
The feasibility of preparation methods of tantalum–aluminum (Ta-Al) alloy (Al3Ta) has been studied. A button ingot obtained by arc melting consisted of various phases with the mass fraction of tantalum from 71 to 92%, and the three phases with different tantalum contents were found in the Ta-Al alloy produced by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS). Excessively high instantaneous temperatures during the arc melting and SHS led to aluminum evaporation and resulted in a mismatch between the desired and actual alloy composition. In contrast, Al3Ta powders were synthesized via magnesium reduction at 1000°C under an argon atmosphere, offering a more controlled process. The resulting Al3Ta powder exhibited a uniform composition with particle sizes of D50 = 13.22 μm, and a low oxygen content of 0.26 wt.%. This approach produced high-quality alloy powders with minimal impurities, making it a promising method for the fabrication of Ta-Al alloys with precise properties for advanced material applications.