To provide an apparatus for producing a metal powder and a method of producing a metal powder capable of obtaining a metal powder having a finer particle size of excellent quality. A supersonic combustion flame is intensively injected into a downwardly supplied molten metal, the intensive combustion flame is jetted directly downwardly as a focused jet flow, the focused jet flow thrusts into a turning water flow formed along an inner peripheral surface of a pulverization cooling cylinder whose axis line is inclined from a vertical direction, and an intensive position of the combustion flame is in an open space above the turning water flow.

Atomization processes for manufacturing a metal powder or an alloy powder having a melting point comprising of about 50 Celsius to about 500 Celsius are provided herein. In at least one embodiment, the processes comprise providing a melt of a metal or an alloy having said melting point of about 50 Celsius to about 500 Celsius through a feed tube; diverting the melt at a diverting angle with respect to a central axis of the feed tube to obtain a diverted melt; directing the diverted melt to an atomization area; and providing at least one atomization gas stream to the atomization area. The atomization process can be carried out in the presence of water within an atomization chamber used for the atomization process. In at least one embodiment, the processes provide a distribution of powder with an average particle diameter under 20 microns with geometric standard deviation of lower than about 2.0.

A method for producing a water-atomized metal powder, comprising applying water to a molten metal stream, dividing the molten metal stream into a metal powder, and cooling the metal powder, wherein the metal powder is further subjected to secondary cooling with cooling capacity having a minimum heat flux point (MHF point) higher than the surface temperature of the metal powder in addition to the cooling and the secondary cooling is performed from a temperature range where the temperature of the metal powder after the cooling is not lower than the cooling start temperature necessary for amorphization nor higher than the minimum heat flux point (MHF point).

A method of producing an atomized powder includes: an atomizing step of forming magnetic alloy particles from a molten metal by an atomizing method, to obtain a slurry in which the magnetic alloy particles are dispersed in an aqueous dispersion medium; a slurry concentration step of causing magnetic separation means to separate the magnetic alloy particles from the slurry to form a concentrated slurry having the magnetic alloy particles of more than 80% by mass, the magnetic separation means using a rotary drum including a magnetic circuit part fixedly disposed at a position where at least a part of the magnetic circuit part is immersed in the slurry and an outer sleeve capable of rotating outside the magnetic circuit part; and a drying step of causing drying means using an air flow dryer to dry the concentrated slurry to form a magnetic alloy powder.

A soft magnetic alloy powder comprises first particles to fifth particles, each having a particle size within a specific range. Among the first particles to the fifth particles, nth particles have an average particle size x.sub.n (?m), an average circularity y.sub.n, and a variance z.sub.n of circularity, where nth is any ordinal number from first to fifth. Points (x.sub.n, y.sub.n) (n=1 to 5) plotted in an xy plane define an approximate straight line having a slope my of ?0.0030 or more. Points (x.sub.n, z.sub.n) (n=1 to 5) plotted in an xz plane define an approximate straight line having a slope mz of 0.00050 or less.

A soft magnetic alloy powder comprises first particles to fifth particles, each having a particle size within a specific range. Among the first particles to the fifth particles, nth particles have an average particle size x.sub.n (?m), an average circularity y.sub.n, and a variance z.sub.n of circularity, where nth is any ordinal number from first to fifth. Points (x.sub.n, y.sub.n) (n=1 to 5) plotted in an xy plane define an approximate straight line having a slope my of ?0.0030 or more. Points (x.sub.n, z.sub.n) (n=1 to 5) plotted in an xz plane define an approximate straight line having a slope mz of 0.00050 or less.

A method of producing iron powder by a water atomization process may include preparing a molten metal in a tundish, discharging the molten metal in a free-falling manner by opening an orifice formed on a bottom of the tundish, and producing iron powder by spraying water onto the free-falling molten metal using a pair of water spraying nozzles, an angle formed by the water spraying nozzles being at least 45.

The present invention provides a power manufacturing apparatus capable of preventing particle growth when fine powder is formed through a fluid, the apparatus comprising: a molten steel providing part for providing molten steel; and a cooling fluid spraying part which is arranged at a lower part of the molten steel providing part and sprays a cooling fluid on the molten steel in order to pulverize the molten steel provided by the molten steel providing part, wherein the cooling fluid spraying part forms a first flow for cooling the molten steel so as to pulverize the molten steel and a second flow for forming a descending air current in the molten steel.

Atomization processes for manufacturing a metal powder or an alloy powder having a melting point comprising of about 50 Celsius to about 500 Celsius are provided herein. In at least one embodiment, the processes comprise providing a melt of a metal or an alloy having said melting point of about 50 Celsius to about 500 Celsius through a feed tube; diverting the melt at a diverting angle with respect to a central axis of the feed tube to obtain a diverted melt; directing the diverted melt to an atomization area; and providing at least one atomization gas stream to the atomization area. The atomization process can be carried out in the presence of water within an atomization chamber used for the atomization process. In at least one embodiment, the processes provide a distribution of powder with an average particle diameter under 20 microns with geometric standard deviation of lower than about 2.0.

A water-atomized metal powder is produced by dividing a molten metal stream into a metal powder by making injection water having a liquid temperature of 10 C. or less and an injection pressure of 5 MPa or more impinge on the molten metal stream and cooling the metal powder. Cooling with injection water having a liquid temperature of 10 C. or less and an injection pressure of 5 MPa or more enables can be performed not in the film boiling region but in the transition boiling region from the beginning of cooling. A gas-atomized metal powder may also be produced by dividing a molten metal stream into a metal powder by making an inert gas impinge on the molten metal stream and cooling the metal powder with injection water having a liquid temperature of 10 C. or less and an injection pressure of 5 MPa or more.