SBIR/STTR Phase I: Electro-Explosion of Composite Metal Wire for the Production of Nanometer-Scale Alloy Powder

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发一种制造纳米级合金粉末的创新工艺。这项创新将源于最先进的复合线材制造技术与最近开发的粉末制造技术的结合。该项目将重点生产纳米级Nb-Al（铌铝）粉末，用于制造改进的Nb3Al超导线。制备了一种Nb-Al复合胶卷线材，该线材将通过电爆工艺转化为纳米级Nb-Al固溶体粉末，该粉末将通过管内粉末工艺制备单丝线材。钢丝的样品将经过热处理形成Nb3Al，并测量由此产生的超导性能。商业应用将用于高能物理和核聚变机器的磁体，高频核磁共振（核磁共振）单元，以及潜在的低温核磁共振成像（磁共振成像）单元。该工艺可以扩展到纳米级铝化物粉末的制造，这些材料可以用于制造在航空航天应用（例如，涡轮机）和汽车工业（例如，热处理炉）中遇到的高温环境中使用的结构部件。纳米级耐火合金粉末可用于化学工业中腐蚀性环境中的涂层。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an innovative process for the fabrication of nanometer-scale alloy powders. The innovation will result from the combination of state-of-the-art composite wire manufacturing techniques with recently developed powder fabrication technology. The project will focus on the production of nanometer-scale Nb-Al (Niobium-Aluminum) powders for use in the fabrication of improved Nb3Al superconducting wire. A Nb-Al composite jelly-roll wire will be fabricated, this wire will be converted to nanometer-scale Nb-Al solid solution powder by an electro-explosion process, and this powder will be used to fabricate monofilament wire by a powder-in-tube process. Samples of the wire will be heat treated to form Nb3Al and the resulting superconducting properties will be measured. The commercial applications will be in magnets for high energy physics and fusion machines, high frequency NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) units, and, potentially, cryo-cooled MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) units. This process could be extended to the fabrication of nanometer-scale aluminide powders, these materials could be used as in the fabrication of structural parts for use in high temperature environments encountered in aerospace applications (e.g., turbines), and in the automotive industry (e.g., heat treatment furnaces). Nanometer-scale refractory alloy powders could be used to coat parts in the corrosive environments found in the chemical industry.