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Research and development study for optimization of beryllium production operations. Tasks III and IV reports. Construction and operation of demonstration models

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:7253044
The objective of this program, the production of a spherical, fine particle, low oxide content beryllium powder by inert gas atomization, was successfully met. The initial step toward achieving the objective, the construction of an atomization unit, was followed by the development of a procedure to successfully produce a spherical powder by atomization. Twenty-nine atomization runs were made to characterize the effects of atomization variables upon the product powder. The variables investigated were melt superheat, nozzle diameter, atomization pressure, and atomization gas oxygen level. Under the range of process conditions used, -200 mesh yield varied from 3.96% to 26.26%. After the powder was produced, a procedure to remove the excess iron contamination, resulting from atomizer design deficiencies, was developed. The cleaning procedure limited the iron to an additional 400 ppM in addition to 500 ppM pre-existing in the melt stock. Good powder flow and high packing density, about 64% of theoretical, helped reduce billet distortion during consolidation. This is economically important for near-net-shape technology. The spherical powder was successfully consolidated by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and vacuum hot pressing (VHP). Tensile properties of a fully dense HIP'd specimen showed excellent isotropy, high 0.2% yield strength (37.7 ksi), high ultimate strength (51.5 ksi), and good ductility (2.5% elongation). X-ray pole figure analysis showed a complete absence of preferred crystallographic orientation.
Research Organization:
Brush Wellman, Inc., Elmore, OH (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-82AL18071
OSTI ID:
7253044
Report Number(s):
DOE/AL/18071-T10; ON: DE87001858
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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