NON-MELT PROCESSING OF “LOW-COST”, ARMSTRONG TITANIUM AND TITANIUM ALLOY POWDERS

Abstract

In the last decade, a considerable effort has been made to develop new methods for producing low cost titanium and titanium powders. The Armstrong process is a new method of producing titanium powder via reducing TiCl4 vapor in molten sodium. The process is scalable, and can be used to produce pre-alloyed powders. Non-melt processing and powder metallurgy approaches are economically viable with the commercially pure powders. In this investigation, several non-melt processing technologies, including vacuum hot pressing, extrusion, roll compaction, and forging techniques, will be evaluated using the Armstrong titanium powders. The metallurgical, chemical, and mechanical properties of the processed titanium samples will be discussed.