Melting aluminum-based alloys

Forming-Die Alloys. The tonnage of slab zinc used in this appHcation is small. The use of zinc alloy dies started in the aircraft industry during World War II (119). Zinc-based alloys cast in sand and plaster molds continue to be used for short-mn dies for steel and aluminum stampings in the automotive and aircraft industries (120). Considerable cost savings are realized with these low melting zinc-based alloys which are easy to poHsh, machine, weld, and remelt. 

Nickel-based alloys, which form the bulk of alloys produced, are basically nickel-chrome alloys with a face-centered cubic solid-solution matrix containing carbides and the coherent intermetallic precipitate y-NijlAfTi). This latter precipitate provides most of the alloy strengthening and results in useful operating temperatures up to 90% of the start of melting. Further additions of aluminum, titanium, niobium, and tantalum are made to combine with nickel in the y phase, and additions of molybdenum, tungsten, and chromium strengthen the solid solution matrix. 

Nonsparking Metals. Certain low-melting metals such as aluminum, copper, tin, and lead are completely nonsparking. Copper-base alloys such as beryllium copper and aluminum bronze are classed as nonsparking, and Monel metal produces such low-temperature sparks that gunpowder, gasoline, or explosive gas mixtures are not easily ignited. 

In many ways, chloroaluminate molten salts are ideal solvents for the electrodeposition of transition metal-aluminum alloys because they constitute a reservoir of reducible aluminum-containing species, they are excellent solvents for many transition metal ions, and they exhibit good intrinsic ionic conductivity. In fact, the first organic salt-based chloroaluminate melt, a mixture of aluminum chloride and 1-ethylpyridinium bromide (EtPyBr), was formulated as a solvent for electroplating aluminum [55, 56] and subsequently used as a bath to electroform aluminum waveguides [57], Since these early articles, numerous reports have been published that describe the electrodeposition of aluminum from this and related chloroaluminate systems for examples, see Liao et al. [58] and articles cited therein. 

The arrangement of the melting and vacuum spray chambers is critical for guiding the liquid metal to eject into the vacuum chamber. Difficulties exist in precisely controlling the expulsion of the liquid metal into the vacuum chamber. Therefore, flaky droplets may be formed in vacuum atomization. Although vacuum atomization was developed mainly for the production of high-purity nickel and cobalt based superalloy powders, it is also applied to atomize the alloys of aluminum, copper and iron. 

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