Properties of Powders Produced by Plasma-Arc Spheroidization of Current-Carrying Fe–Al Flux-Cored Wire

The powders produced by plasma-arc wire atomization in an argon atmosphere or air were studied for their use in 3D printing of complex-shaped metal parts and in granular metallurgy. The dependence of the morphology, structure, phase composition, and microhardness of the powders on the current and atomization conditions was established. In all studied operating modes of the plasma torch (180, 220, and 270 A), the atomized particles are predominantly spherical. The number of nonspherical particles increases with particle size. The powders atomized in an argon atmosphere exhibit a stable phase composition. The main component is iron aluminide Fe₃Al (or a mixture of Fe₃Al and AlFe). The α-Fe, Fe₃O₄, and Fe₂O₃ phases were also found. At currents of 220 and 270 A, the powder in –200+100 μm fraction contains the highest amount of aluminides, 83.88 and 86.30 wt.%, and the lowest content of oxides, 6.61–10.18 wt.%. In fine powders (–100+75 μm), the content of aluminides is 70.38– 28.3 wt.%), but the amount of oxides increases to 23.32–29.62 wt.%. The microhardness of oxide particles (5320–8150 MPa) is higher than that of metal particles (3070–4590 MPa). In atomization in air, the key components are Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, FeO, and Al₃O₄. The total amount of oxides reaches 57.19–90.34%. The percentage of iron aluminides decreases significantly, and their maximum content (28.3 wt.%) is shown by the –315+200 μm powder at a plasma torch current of 270 A. In the finest powder fraction of –100+75 μm, the content of aluminides ranges from 6.2 to 15.36 wt.%. The average microhardness of metal particles is much lower (2750–4940 MPa) than that of oxide particles (4500–7460 MPa). It was found that the best material in terms of phase composition, structure, hardness, and shape factor was produced by atomization of a flux-cored wire in an argon atmosphere. In atomization in air, intense oxidation processes occur.