Print
2025 №02 (04) DOI of Article
10.37434/sem2025.02.05 		2025 №02 (06)

Electrometallurgy Today 2025 №02


"Suchasna Elektrometallurgiya" (Electrometallurgy Today), 2025, #2, 30-36 pages

Spherical titanium powder production for 3D printing by plasma-arc atomization of wire materials

V.M. Korzhyk1, D.V. Strohonov1, O.S. Tereshchenko1, O.V. Ganushchak1, A.Yu. Tunik1, V.A. Kostin1, S.L. Chygileichyk2, V.K. Yuliuhin1

1E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute of the NAS of Ukraine 11 Kazymyr Malevych Str., 03150, Kyiv, Ukraine. E-mail: vnkorzhyk@gmail.com
2JSC «Ivchenko-Progress». 2 Ivanova Str., 69068, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine

Abstract
The possibility of spherical titanium powder production by the technology of plasma-arc atomization of solid Cp-Ti Grade 2 wire with a diameter of 1.0 and 1.6 mm has been experimentally confirmed. Analysis of the particle size distribution of the powder showed that in the case of atomization of titanium wire with a diameter of 1.0 mm, the main fraction is ‒140 μm, which is 96 % of the total mass of the powder, where the amount of the finely dispersed fraction of ‒63 μm is up to 60 wt.%, and in the case of wire with a diameter of 1.6 mm, the main fraction is ‒200 μm, which is 95 wt.%, while the amount of the finely dispersed fraction of ‒63 μm does not exceed 38 wt.%. A study of shape parameters of the titanium powder was performed, which showed that most particles have a regular spherical shape with an average sphericity coefficient close to 0.9, the number of particles with satellites, and particles of irregular shape does not exceed 1 wt.%, which determines the high technological properties of the produced powder, which are on a par with other industrial technologies of spherical powder production by plasma and gas atomization methods. The chemical and phase composition of the atomized powder was investigated, and it was found that the phase composition consists of α-Ti, and the chemical composition corresponds to the ASTM B 348-05 standard. It was shown that application of the technology of plasma-arc atomization of titanium wire allows obtaining spherical powders that can be used as consumables for 3D printing of products for the aviation, rocket and space, medical, energy and chemical industries by the methods of electron beam melting (EBM), laser direct energy deposition (LDED) and plasma metal deposition (PMD). 22 Ref., 4 Tabl., 4 Fig.
Keywords: plasma-arc atomization, solid wire, titanium, sphericity, powders, 3D printing

Received: 06.01.2025
Received in revised form: 06.02.2025
Accepted: 02.05.2025

References

1. Nguyen, H., Pramanik, A., Basak, A. et al. (2022) A critical review on additive manufacturing of Ti6Al4V alloy: Microstructure and mechanical properties. J. of Materials Research and Technology, 18, 4641–4661. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2022.04.055
2. Matviichuk, V.A., Nesterenkov, V.M., Berdnikova, O.M. (2022) Additive electron beam technology for manufacture of metal products from powder materials. The Paton Welding J., 2, 16–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37434/as2022.02.03
3. Ahn, D. (2021) Directed energy deposition (DED) process: State of the art. Inter. J. of Precis. Eng. and Manuf.-Green Tech., 8, 703–742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40684-020-00302-7
4. Svetlizky, D., Das, M., Zheng, B. et al. (2021) Directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing: Physical characteristics, defects, challenges and applications. Materials Today, 49, 271–295. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mattod.2021.03.020
5. King, W., Anderson, A., Ferencz, R. et al. (2015) Laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of metals; Physics, computational, and materials challenges. Applied Physics Reviews, 2, 041–304. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4937809
6. Fatemeh, A, Haydari, Z., Salehi, H. et al. (2024) Spreadability of powders for additive manufacturing: A critical review of metrics and characterization methods. Particuology, 93, 211–234. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2024.06.013
7. Olakanmi, E. (2013) Selective laser sintering/melting (SLS/ SLM) of pure Al, Al–Mg, and Al–Si powders: Effect of processing conditions and powder properties. J. of Materials Processing Technol., 213, 1387–1405. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2013.03.009
8. Attar, H., Prashanth, K., Zhang, L. et al. (2015) Effect of powder particle shape on the properties of in Situ Ti–TiB composite materials produced by selective laser melting. J. of Mater. Sci. & Technol., 31, 1001–1005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2015.08.007
9. Drawin, S., Deborde, A., Thomas, M. et al. (2020) Atomization of Ti–64 alloy using the EIGA process: Comparison of the characteristics of powders produced in lab scale and industrial-scale facilities. In: MATEC Web of Conferences, 321, 07013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202032107013
10. Xiao, H., Gao, B., Yu, S. et al. (2024) Life cycle assessment of metal powder production: a Bayesian stochastic Kriging model-based autonomous estimation. Auton. Intell. Syst., 4, 20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43684-024-00079-5
11. Chen, G., Zhao, S., Tan, P. et al. (2018) A comparative study of Ti6Al4V powders for additive manufacturing by gas atomization, plasma rotating electrode process and plasma atomization. Powder Technology, 333, 38–46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2018.04.013
12. Sun, P., Fang, Z., Zhang, Y. et al. (2017) Review of the methods for the production of spherical Ti and Ti alloy powder. JOM, 69, 1853–1860. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-017-2513-5
13. Korzhyk, V., Strohonov, D., Burlachenko, O. (2023) Development of plasma-arc technologies of spherical granule production for additive manufacturing and granule metallurgy. The Paton Welding J., 12, 3–18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37434/tpwj2023.12.01
14. Yurtukan, E., Unal, R. (2022) Theoretical and experimental investigation of Ti alloy powder production using low-power plasma torches. Transact. of Nonferrous Metals Society of China, 32, 175–191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1003-6326(21)65786-2
15. Korzhyk, V., Strohonov, D., Burlachenko, O. (2023) New generation unit for plasma-arc deposition of coatings and atomization of current-carrying wire materials. The Paton Welding J., 10, 35–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37434/tpwj2023.10.06
16. Yin, Z., Yu, D., Zhang, Q. et al. (2021) Experimental and numerical analysis of a reverse-polarity plasma torch for plasma atomization. Plasma Chem. Plasma Process, 41, 1471–1495. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-021-10181-8
17. Kharlamov, M., Krivtsun, I., Korzhyk, V. (2014) Dynamic model of the wire dispersion process in plasma-arc spraying. J. of Thermal Spray Technol., 23, 420–430. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-013-0027-4
18. Kharlamov, M., Krivtsun, I., Korzhyk, V. et al. (2015) Simulation of motion, heating, and breakup of molten metal droplets in the plasma jet at plasma-arc spraying. J. of Thermal Spray Technol., 24, 659–670. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-015-0216-4
19. Gulyaev, I., Dolmatov, A., Kharlamov, M. et al. (2015) Arc-plasma wire spraying: An optical study of process phenomenology. J. of Thermal Spray Technol., 24, 1566–1573. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-015-0356-6
20. Adeeva, L., Tunik, A., Korzhyk, V. et al. (2024) Properties of powders produced by plasma-arc spheroidization of current-carrying Fe–Al flux-cored wire. Powder Metall. Met. Ceram., 63, 12–23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11106-024-00434-4
21. Li, X., Cui, L., Shonkwiler, S. et al. (2023) Automatic characterization of spherical metal powders by microscope image analysis: A parallel computing approach. J. Iron Steel Res., 30, 2293–2300. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42243-022-00907-z
22. Liu, Y., Zhao, X., Lai, Y. et al. (2020) A brief introduction to the selective laser melting of Ti6Al4V powders by supreme-speed plasma rotating electrode process. Progress in Natural Sci.: Materials Intern., 1(30), 94–99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnsc.2019.12.004

Advertising in this issue: