A comparative study on spheroidization of sodium reduced and hydrogenation-dehydrogenation tantalum powder by RF plasma

Sodium reduced tantalum powder and hydrogenation-dehydrogenation tantalum powder were spheroidized by RF plasma, respectively. Influences of carrier gas flow rate, powder feeding rate and secondary spheroidization on particle size and morphology of the spheroidized tantalum powders were investigated. Results show that hydrogenation-dehydrogenation tantalum powder is more appropriate for radio frequency plasma spheroidization than sodium reduced tantalum powder. Spheroidization ratio, powder collection ratio and average particle size of the spheroidized tantalum powder all decrease as the carrier gas flow rate increases. Powder collection ratio and particle size decrease with the decrease of the powder feeding rate. Moreover, spheroidization ratio, flowability and apparent density of the spheroidized tantalum powder increases after secondary spheroidization process while particle size of it decreases.