Characteristics of spherical Ti-6Al-4V powders prepared by RF plasma processing

Spherical Ti-6Al-4V(TC4) powders were prepared with irregular TC4 powders by a radio frequency(RF) plasma.The effect of spheroidization on the powder characteristics and the influence of feeding rate on the spheroidization ratio were studied.The morphology,particle size distribution and characteristics of the spherical powders were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),laser micron sizer(LMS) and Hall flowmeter,respectively.The results show that TC4 powders after plasma processing have good sphericity and smooth surfaces,and their spheroidization ratio is almost 100%.The loose density,tap density and powder flowability significantly increases after the process,but the spheroidization ratio gradually decreases with the feeding rate increasing.