The hydride-dehydride process combined with plasma spheroidization: An alternative route for producing spherical metallic powders of U-6 wt. % Nb

In this work, we investigate the viability of the Hydride-Dehydride (HDH) process coupled with plasma spheroidization for producing U-6 wt.% Nb powders as an alternative method to atomization. The HDH process produces irregularly shaped powder with sub-micron U-Nb segregation and phase heterogeneity, and the subsequent spheroidization process re-homogenizes both the U-Nb composition and phase that is similar to atomized U-6 wt.% Nb powders. The surface oxide layer of the spheroidized powder is thinner than atomized U-6 wt.% Nb powders, ranging from 5 to 15 nm and display an isotropic microstructure, absent of large dendrites across the sphere as seen in atomized U-6 wt.% Nb. HDH also offers the advantage that oversized and undersized powders can be reprocessed. Combined, we demonstrate that HDH coupled with plasma spheroidization is a low-waste, alternative production route for spherical U6 wt.% Nb powders.(c) 2023 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/).