Nickel-based alloy powder is a metal powder with nickel as the main component and other alloying elements added. It has excellent properties such as high-temperature strength, oxidation resistance and corrosion resistance, and is widely used in aerospace, energy, chemical industry, medical and other fields.

1.Preparation Methods

  • Vacuum Induction Melting Gas Atomization (VIGA): Melt the furnace charge by coil induction heating in a vacuum environment. Then break the metal liquid flow with high-pressure inert gas to quickly solidify into fine particles. The powder has a wide particle size distribution, with problems such as satellite powder, agglomerated powder and hollow powder. However, it features high production efficiency and low cost, making it the mainstream powder production method in Europe and the United States.
  • Plasma Rotating Electrode Process (PREP): Under an inert gas environment, the plasma generator and electrode generate an electric arc to melt the rotating bar stock. The molten metal is atomized into small droplets under centrifugal force and rapidly solidified into powder. The powder has good sphericity, concentrated particle size and high purity, but the equipment is expensive and the powder particle size is relatively coarse.
  • Plasma Atomization (PA): Heat the alloy wire with a plasma gun to melt and evaporate it into metal vapor. Then, through gas quenching and cooling technology, the vapor agglomerates, nucleates and grows into ultra-fine alloy powder. The powder has a narrow particle size distribution and high fine powder yield, but the raw material cost is high and the powder production efficiency is low.
  • Electrode Induction Gas Atomization (EIGA): Without using a ceramic crucible, install the master alloy bar on the feeding device. Heat and melt it through a conical ultra-high frequency induction coil to form an alloy liquid flow. Then break it into small droplets with high-pressure inert gas to solidify into powder. The powder has a small particle size, no large amount of flakes, and relatively high production efficiency.

2.Performance Characteristics

  • Excellent high-temperature performance: It can maintain high strength, oxidation resistance and corrosion resistance at 650-1000℃. It is suitable for manufacturing high-temperature components such as aero-engine turbine blades and combustion chamber components.
  • Good processability: It can be processed into complex-shaped parts through additive manufacturing (3D printing), hot isostatic pressing, isothermal forging and other processes. This realizes near-net shaping, reducing material waste and processing costs.
  • High purity and uniformity: High-quality nickel-based alloy powder has low impurity content, low gas content, fine grains and uniform structure, which can ensure the reliability and durability of parts.

3.Application Fields

  • Aerospace: Used to manufacture key components such as aero-engine turbine disks, compressor disks and drum shafts, as well as high-temperature components of space rocket engines.
  • Energy field: Applied to high-temperature structural parts of gas turbines and corrosion-resistant components of nuclear power equipment.
  • Chemical industry: Used to manufacture corrosion-resistant chemical equipment, pipelines, reactors and so on.
  • Medical field: Some nickel-based alloy powders can be used in the manufacture of dental and medical implants, but they must meet strict biocompatibility requirements.

4.Development Trends

  • High purity and refinement: With the improvement of requirements for part performance, powder purity and fine powder yield have become key indicators. It is necessary to further optimize the powder production process and reduce defects such as inclusions and hollow powder.
  • Multi-process applicability: Develop powders suitable for different manufacturing processes (such as additive manufacturing, hot isostatic pressing, isothermal forging) to improve the versatility and reliability of materials.
  • Sustainable development: Reduce energy consumption and environmental pollution in the powder production process, improve resource utilization, and promote the development of green manufacturing technology.

5.Product