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. 2024 Jun 24;17(13):3093.
doi: 10.3390/ma17133093.

Development of an Alternative Manufacturing Technology for Niobium Components

Anna Kawalek  1 , Kirill Ozhmegov  1 , Dariusz Garbiec  2 , Henryk Dyja  2 , Alexandr Arbuz  3
Affiliations

Development of an Alternative Manufacturing Technology for Niobium Components

Anna Kawalek et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Due to their physical and mechanical properties, niobium products are used in the nuclear power industry, chemical industry, electronics, medicine and in the defence industry. Traditional manufacturing technology for these products is characterized by long production cycles and significant material losses during their surface machining. This paper presents the results of a study on the fabrication of niobium products by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS). Structural and mechanical tests were conducted on the products obtained, as well as a comparative analysis with the properties of products obtained using traditional technology. Based on the analysis of the test results obtained, recommendations were made for the sintering of Nb powders. It was found that the optimum temperature for sintering the powder is 2000 °C as the density of the material obtained is close to the theoretical density. The microstructure obtained is comparable to samples obtained by the traditional method after recrystallization annealing. Samples obtained according to the new technology are characterized by higher mechanical properties Rp0.2 and Rm and the highest hardness.

Keywords: EBSD; Nb rods; SPS methods; metallography; powder metallurgy; rheological and strength properties; sintering parameters.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sintering curves of niobium powder spark plasma sintered at 2000 °C niobium sample with dimensions Ø20 × 30 mm (a) and schema (b) of the tool system for producing semi-finished products from niobium powder by spark plasma sintering (SPS).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Structural test results of the Nb sample after SPS sintering (sintering temperature T = 2000 °C) obtained with CrossBeam-540 (Carl Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany) electron microscope using EBSD phase composition analysis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Results of tests of the conventional yield strength Rp0.2 versus the temperature of specimens obtained by the new technology—sintered by the SPS method (Rp0.2_SPS), obtained by the traditional technology in a state after cold deformation (Rp0.2_Tr_D) and after recrystallization annealing (Rp0.2_Tr_HT).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Test results of the effect of actual strain and strain rate έ = 0.001–1.0 s−1 at room temperature on the value of plasticizing stress σp of Ø10 × 12 mm Nb samples obtained according to the new technology—sintered by the SPS method.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Results of investigations into the impact of the structure’s state (after SPS sintering as well as after recrystallization annealing) on the σp-ε curves obtained during uniaxial compression of Ø10 × 12 mm Nb samples at strain rate έ = 0.001 s−1.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Results of investigations into the impact of the structure’s state (after SPS sintering as well as after recrystallization annealing) on the σp-ε curves obtained during uniaxial compression of Ø10 × 12 mm Nb samples at strain rate έ = 1.0 s−1.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Comparative test results of the impact of temperature T and actual strain ε on the change in the plasticizing stress σp of Ø10 × 12 mm Nb specimens at strain rate έ = 0.001 s−1: (a) after sintering using the SPS method; (b) traditional technology.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Results of microhardness tests of Nb samples obtained by the SPS method (HV_SPS) and by the traditional method (HV_Tr) depending on the applied strain value.
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