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US 2026/0015693 A1Published application
Aluminum Based Metal Powders and Methods of Their Production
AssigneeAP&C Advanced Powders & Coatings, Inc.
InventorsFrédéric Larouche, Matthieu Balmayer, Frédéric Marion
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Abstract
Aluminum-based metallic powders, along with their methods of production and formation, are provided. The Al-based metallic powders are formed with an increased amount of oxygen within at least a portion of the particles of the powder. The Al-based metallic powders show improved flowability.
Claims20
A method of forming a metal powder of Al-based metallic particles, comprising:
- supplying an Al-based source metal into a heat zone of an atomizer such that Al-based metallic particles are formed in a plasma field, wherein the Al-based metallic source material comprises at least 50% by weight aluminum and has an initial oxygen concentration;
- and
- supplying oxygen into the atomizer such that a majority of the Al-based metallic particles have a particle oxygen concentration that is greater than the initial oxygen concentration of the Al-based metallic source material.
A method of forming a metal powder of Al-based metallic particles, comprising:
- forming Al-based metallic particles in a plasma field of a heat zone of an atomizer from an Al-based metallic source material, wherein the Al-based metallic source material comprises at least 50% by weight aluminum;
- and
- directing oxygen into the atomizer such that oxygen reacts with aluminum on and within the Al-based metallic particles to form aluminum oxides therein, wherein a majority of the Al-based metallic particles comprises a normalized half oxygen concentration that is 50% of a normalized maximum oxygen concentration, wherein the normalized half oxygen concentration is 0.002 min/μm2 or greater as measured via auger electron spectroscopy, wherein majority of Al-based metallic particles has a particle size distribution of 10 μm to 45 μm, 15 μm to 45 μm, 10 μm to 53 μm, 15 μm to 63 μm, 20 μm to 63 μm, 15 μm to 53 μm, 45 μm to 106 μm, or 25 μm to 45 μm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.