Recently, in the Sino-European Horizon 2020 Aerospace Science and Technology Cooperation Project jointly funded by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China and the European Union Innovation Department, the research team of the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences undertook the research work on the front section of the aero engine near-net-forming hot isostatic outer casing. ZHMT provides key technical support for superalloy powder materials. The team of Professor Lei Xu from the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Zhengjiang Gao's team of ZHMT jointly carried out research on ultra-high-purity superalloy smelting and atomization, powder filling integrity and compactness, hot isostatic pressing and other technologies, breaking through hot isostatic pressing Forming and precise size control technology solves the problems of discrete component performance and heat treatment deformation.
Near-net forming hot isostatic pressing technology is extremely demanding on powder materials. The purity of powder, the content of non-metallic inclusions, gas content, hollow powder and other indicators are all very important influencing factors. Purity index is the key to the success of the project. For the first time, it is proposed to develop Inconel 718 alloy powder using the crucible-free electrode induction melting gas atomization powder making equipment of independent innovation design. Through strict process control, ultra-high purity and excellent sphericity (≥ 91%) of superalloy powder, the ratio of satellite powder and hollow powder is extremely low. The surface of the powder is composed of cell crystals and dendrites, showing rapid solidification characteristics, uniform chemical composition, no segregation, and excellent overall performance of the parts.
Only the components provided by the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the international development team have all met the requirements for size, metallurgical quality and material properties in the US ASTM standard re-inspection technical agreement. The performance of Inconel 718 alloy material has surpassed the current international casting alloy level and reached or approached the level of forged alloy.
ZHMT has worked closely with the Institute of Metals of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for many years to jointly carry out the research and development and engineering application of nearly 10 new high-quality alloy powder materials, and successfully completed a number of key scientific research projects and model research tasks. Since 2017, Europe and the United States have restricted the export of advanced powder milling equipment to China, and China has encountered a "bottleneck" problem in the development of high-performance alloy powder materials. In order to successfully complete the component development task, ZHMT and the team of the Institute of Metals of the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly designed and developed China's first advanced large-section titanium alloy electrode induction melting gas atomization powder production equipment MTEIGA-75. The key technology for preparing high-quality spherical titanium alloy powder materials is realized. Independent and controllable, major pulverizing equipment has been made domestically. ZHMT is oriented to 3D printing, hot isostatic pressing HIP and other high-end manufacturing technology fields. It uses electrode induction gas atomization powder making equipment to develop multiple grades of superalloy powder materials: GH4169, GH3536, GH5188, GH3230, GH4099, etc., and jointly related The unit has fully carried out 3D printing, HIP and other verification studies, has made breakthroughs in the forming performance of parts and components, successfully completed the research tasks, and helped the development of aerospace industry.