A device for atomizing a metallic, intermetallic or ceramic melt stream by means of a gas to form a spherical powder, comprising a melt chamber, a powder chamber, an induction coil in the melt chamber, a melt material, preferably melt rod in the induction coil and an atomizer nozzle interconnecting the melt and powder chambers and being arranged in a nozzle plate, for the melt stream melted off from the melt material by the induction coil, wherein the atomizer nozzle has an exclusively convergent nozzle profile having nozzle flanks which have a circular-arc-shaped cross-section, and therefore both the atomizing gas and the melt stream and the droplets generated therefrom reach a velocity which is at most equal to, preferably below the acoustic velocity of the atomizing gas.

The present invention belongs to the field of additive manufacturing technology, and discloses a 4D printing method capable of in-situ regulating functional properties of nickel-titanium (NiTi) alloys and the application thereof. The method comprises the following steps: subjecting NiTi alloy bars to atomization milling to obtain NiTi alloy powder with a particle size of 15-53 m, placing the NiTi alloy powder in a discharge plasma assisted ball mill for discharge treatment to promote the activation of powder activity, then adding nano-sized Ni powder with a particle size of 100-800 nm to obtain mixed powder, then continuing the discharge treatment to realize the metallurgical bonding between the NiTi alloy powder and the nano-sized Ni powder to obtain the modified powder, and finally using the additive manufacturing technology to prepare and form the modified powder into a functionalized NiTi alloy. The present invention achieves the metallurgical bonding between the nano-sized Ni powder and the large-sized spherical NiTi alloy powder by adding the nano-sized Ni powder in the process of discharge treatment, which is conducive to preparing a bulk alloy with uniform composition, structure and properties and the parts made therewith.

A plasma atomization metal powder manufacturing process includes providing a heated metal source and contacting the heated metal source with the plasma of at least one plasma source under conditions effective for causing atomization of the heated metal source. The atomization may be carried out using a gas to metal ratio of less than about 20, thereby obtaining a raw metal powder having a 0-106 m particle size distribution yield of at least 80%. The process may further include aligning the heated metal source with the plasma of at least one plasma source. An atomizing system may include an alignment system positioned up-stream of the plasma source and adapted to adjust an orientation of the metal source relative to the at least one plasma source.

A plasma atomization metal powder manufacturing process includes providing a heated metal source and contacting the heated metal source with the plasma of at least one plasma source under conditions effective for causing atomization of the heated metal source. The atomization may be carried out using a gas to metal ratio of less than about 20, thereby obtaining a raw metal powder having a 0-106 m particle size distribution yield of at least 80%. The process may further include aligning the heated metal source with the plasma of at least one plasma source. An atomizing system may include an alignment system positioned up-stream of the plasma source and adapted to adjust an orientation of the metal source relative to the at least one plasma source.

The present disclosure provides a copper alloy material, a preparation method therefor and use thereof, and belong to the technical field of additive manufacturing. The copper alloy material provided by the present disclosure includes the following components by mass percentage: 2.0-7.0% of Cr, 1.0-5.0% of Nb, 0.1-2.0% of Ag, 0.1-0.7% of Zr, 0.02-0.3% of RE, and the balance of Cu. The RE includes the following components by mass percentage: 88-93% of La, 6-9% of Ce, 1.5-1.9% of Pr, and Nd less than or equal to 0.3%, and a sum of mass is 100%. By means of the synergistic effect among RE, Cr, Nb, Ag, Zr and Cu in the present disclosure, thermal conductivity, high-temperature creep property, high-temperature strength, and high-temperature fatigue of the copper alloy material are effectively improved, and the problem of poor high-temperature mechanical properties of a copper alloy material in the prior art is solved.

This present invention is directed to a powder comprising a composite of primary nanoparticles of aluminum and/or aluminum oxide, the nanoparticle being separated from the others by an intervening organic or polymeric material, and formed into secondary particles that are substantially larger than the primary nanoparticles.

A cold tundish which has a surface made from a thermally conductive metal, and which is cooled by a cooling fluid, is disposed so as to receive a molten material from a cold crucible; high-speed jets of an inert gas are produced from a nozzle at a narrow portion of an orifice that is open at the exit side of the cold tundish, producing a low-pressure region on the exit side of the orifice that draws the molten material and a plasma through the orifice; the high-speed jets of inert gas impinge on the molten material to achieve atomization thereof, using an apparatus that is compatible with atomization of even reactive and refractory metals.

A powder includes a collection of a plurality of particles containing metal elements, the particles each including a matrix and a plurality of precipitates dispersed in the matrix, the matrix including a first component, the precipitates each including a second component, the standard error of the content of the first component in the particles on mass basis being 1.2 or less, the standard error of the content of the second component in the particles on mass basis being 1.2 or less.

A device for producing metal powder. This includes a melting chamber, a downstream atomization tower, and a nozzle assembly for atomizing a melt jet. The device further includes an induction coil disposed within the melting chamber and operated at a melting frequency f.sub.melt, the induction coil is adapted to locally melt a material rod at least section-wise received therein, to produce the melt jet to be atomized, and a separate intermediate coil disposed within the melting chamber and operated at a base frequency f.sub.base, wherein said intermediate coil is disposed downstream of the induction coil and aligned coaxially with the induction coil. The intermediate coil is configured to superheat the melt jet in a region between the induction coil and the nozzle assembly. The following applies to a frequency ratio F.sub.BS of the base frequency f.sub.base to the melting frequency f.sub.melt, 1F.sub.BS=f.sub.base/f.sub.melt500.

A device for producing metal powder. This includes a melting chamber, a downstream atomization tower, and a nozzle assembly for atomizing a melt jet. The device further includes an induction coil disposed within the melting chamber and operated at a melting frequency f.sub.melt, the induction coil is adapted to locally melt a material rod at least section-wise received therein, to produce the melt jet to be atomized, and a separate intermediate coil disposed within the melting chamber and operated at a base frequency f.sub.base, wherein said intermediate coil is disposed downstream of the induction coil and aligned coaxially with the induction coil. The intermediate coil is configured to superheat the melt jet in a region between the induction coil and the nozzle assembly. The following applies to a frequency ratio F.sub.BS of the base frequency f.sub.base to the melting frequency f.sub.melt, 1F.sub.BS=f.sub.base/f.sub.melt500.