Obtaining powdered intermetallic alloy of the Fe – Al system by electroerosive dispersion

A method of electroerosive dispersion and its hardware design for obtaining a powder material based on a promising intermetallic alloy of the Fe – Al system (25–34 % at. Al) are proposed. The source material is SV08 grade low-carbon steel wire cut-offs. The working fluid is a mixture of lighting kerosene with an organoaluminum compound, triisobutylaluminum, in equal volume fractions. The electroerosive powders were spherical particles of a wide range of sizes: from ultrafine to micrometers. The average particle size (D, μm) depends on the pulse energy of the electric spark process (E, J) according to an adequate mathematical model in the form of a secondorder polynomial: D = –8.74E2 + 11.26E + 1.44. The elemental composition of the powders is represented by iron, alloyed aluminum and carbon. Their quantities depend on the magnitude of the pulse energy of the electric spark process according to the following adequate mathematical models in the form of second-order polynomials, % (mass.): for aluminum Al = –10.55E2 + 13.59E + 14.42 and carbon C = –1.70E2 + 2.28E + 1.16. The phase composition of the powders is represented by the intermetallic compound FeAl with a B2-type lattice, which contains colonies of double carbide Fe3AlС0,5 and a graphite phase. An increase in the pulse energy leads to an increase in the proportion of double carbide Fe3AlС0,5. Y is the content of double carbide Fe3AlС0,5 in the powder material, % (mass.) according to an adequate mathematical model in the form of a secondorder polynomial: Y = –3.94E2 + 12.99E + 4.37.