LAUSR

The paper analyzes the results of studying the specifics of various methods for obtaining nickel aluminide (NiAl) powder. The problems hindering the widespread use of nickel aluminide (NiAl) in modern aircraft and engine construction are reviewed. It was found that the main problems preventing the widespread industrial use of nickel aluminide (NiAl) have to do with practically zero plasticity of the material during pressure treatment and difficulties associated with machining parts made thereof. However, this problem can be solved by using powder metallurgy technologies, when a practically finished product is formed that requires minimal amounts of subsequent machining. Within the framework of the conducted studies, the quality criteria of the obtained powder particles were determined, which include their sphericity, stability of the resulting particle sizes, absence of defects in the form of pores, absence of satellites on the surface of the powder particles, presence of a finely dispersed dendritic structure of the material of the obtained particles, etc. Several methods of obtaining spherical particles of nickel aluminide (NiAl) powder have been investigated in terms of obtaining the highest quality raw materials, namely: spraying the melted billet with a high-temperature inert gas flow (gas atomization method), centrifugal atomization of the melted electrode (PREP method), and melt spinning using a perforated crucible. It was determined that the optimal way to obtain high-quality NiAl powder material is the PREP method. In the course of the conducted research, it was proved that the main parameter of the process of centrifugal atomization of the melted electrode, affecting the quality of the resulting powder particles, their diameter and the value of the dendritic parameter of their microstructure, is not so much the current ( I ) as the rotation speed of the melted electrode ( n ). The optimal values of the electrode rotation speeds were determined to be as follows: n ≈ 15,000–16,000 rpm at I ≈ 1,000–1,500 A.