Inert protection buffer cabin structure for spray forming of aluminum-lithium alloy

Abstract

The invention relates to a spray forming aluminum lithium alloy inert protection buffer cabin structure which comprises a buffer cabin, air inlet end structures are arranged on the two sides of the lower end of the buffer cabin, cabin top structures are arranged on the two sides of the upper end of the buffer cabin, and the cabin top structures are symmetrically arranged beveled lead angle structures; cabin bottom structures are arranged on the two sides of the lower end of the buffer cabin and are arc surface structures connected with the air inlet end structure and the inner wall of the buffer cabin; an air outlet structure is arranged at the top of the buffer cabin; a molten aluminum transfer trolley is arranged in the middle area of the buffer cabin; the smelting protection system comprises a gas inlet end structure, the gas inlet end structure is in a long and narrow pipeline shape, a plurality of gas inlets are formed in the top of the gas inlet end structure in the length direction of the gas inlet end structure, and the gas inlets are of rectangular strip seam structures and enable protection gas ejected out of the gas inlets to form plane jet flow. And meanwhile, the consumption of inert protective gas can be reduced, and the energy consumption and the cost are reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of spray-formed aluminum-lithium alloy preparation, aims to prevent lithium oxidation and hydrogen absorption during lithium-adding smelting, and discloses a spray-formed aluminum-lithium alloy inert protection buffer cabin structure. Background Art

[0002] Aluminum-lithium alloys are widely used in the aerospace field due to their low density, high specific strength and excellent corrosion resistance. At present, the main forming method of aluminum-lithium alloys is spray forming, which uses high-pressure inert gas to atomize the alloy liquid flow into fine molten droplets, fly and cool under high-speed airflow, and deposit into a blank before it is completely solidified. As an advanced material preparation process, spray forming technology has great advantages in the preparation of large-scale aluminum-lithium alloys. During the smelting process of aluminum-lithium alloys, lithium easily reacts with oxygen and water vapor in the air to form oxide inclusions, which is not conducive to the control of hydrogen content and affects the final structure and mechanical properties of the aluminum-lithium alloy. Protecting the lithium-added smelting process can provide a stable inert smelting environment, effectively reduce oxidation, and improve the performance of aluminum-lithium alloys. At present, there are problems in the smelting protection of aluminum-lithium alloys, such as long time to establish the inert atmosphere and high cost of inert gas consumption. Therefore, it is necessary for those skilled in the art to make improvements to the existing problems. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In response to the above problems, the present invention discloses a spray-formed aluminum-lithium alloy inert protection buffer cabin structure, which can form an inert atmosphere in the shortest time, reduce the consumption cost of inert gas, and improve the performance of aluminum-lithium alloy.

[0004] The specific technical solutions are as follows:

[0005] A spray-formed aluminum-lithium alloy inert protection buffer tank structure includes a buffer tank, wherein air inlet structures for inert protective gas are provided on both sides of the lower end of the buffer tank, and roof structures for guiding the flow of gas in the buffer tank are provided on both sides of the upper end of the buffer tank, wherein the two roof structures are symmetrically arranged with beveled angle structures; a bottom structure for guiding the flow of gas in the buffer tank is provided on both sides of the lower end of the buffer tank, wherein the bottom structure is an arc surface structure connecting the air inlet structure and the inner side wall of the buffer tank; an outlet structure for gas discharge is provided on the top of the buffer tank, and an aluminum liquid transfer vehicle for waiting for lithium smelting is provided in the middle area of the buffer tank;

[0006] The air inlet end structure is arranged on both sides of the bottom surface of the buffer cabin and is symmetrically distributed on the left and right. The air inlet end structure is in the shape of a narrow and long pipe. A plurality of air inlets are evenly arranged along the length direction of the top of the air inlet end structure. The air inlets are in a rectangular slit structure, and the protective gas ejected from the air inlet forms a planar jet.

[0007] Preferably, the top of the air inlet end structure is arranged in a curved convex shape, and the long side direction of the air inlet is arranged along the length direction of the air inlet end structure.

[0008] Preferably, the air inlet area is 6 mm×1.5 mm, wherein the long side is 6 mm, and the air inlet pressure is 0.2 MPa.

[0009] Preferably, the air inlet end structure is arranged on the bottom surface of the buffer cabin, and the two air inlet end structures are at a certain distance from the side wall surface of the buffer cabin.

[0010] Preferably, the cabin roof structure is a 45° beveled chamfered structure.

[0011] Preferably, there are two air outlet structures and they are distributed on both sides of the top of the buffer cabin.

[0012] The beneficial effects of the present invention are embodied in:

[0013] (1) Compared with the traditional circular air inlet, the rectangular slit air inlet has a two-dimensional plane jet characteristic formed by its high aspect ratio. The velocity distribution of the jet main section of the slit air inlet is self-similar, and the jet boundary of the main section is generally linearly expanded, that is, linear diffusion, so that a directional and orderly flow is formed in the buffer cabin, which significantly reduces the disordered retention effect caused by three-dimensional turbulence, thereby driving the air discharge more efficiently and achieving a lower air volume concentration in the cabin under the same time, thereby ensuring that an inert atmosphere is formed in the cabin in the shortest time.

[0014] (2) The process parameters of the rectangular slit air inlet in the present invention affect the time for the inert gas in the buffer chamber to reach the required concentration and the consumption of the inert gas. By setting a suitable air inlet area and air inlet pressure, the inert gas consumption can be reduced while accelerating the inert protective gas filling rate.

[0015] (3) The buffer cabin of the present invention adopts a top beveled guide angle and a bottom continuous arc-shaped transition structure, both of which can accelerate the flow of gas in the cabin, reduce gas retention in the corners, and improve gas flow efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the inertial smelting protection system for spray-formed aluminum-lithium alloys according to the present invention.

[0018] Explanation of the accompanying symbols: 1. Buffer tank; 2. Molten aluminum transfer vehicle; 3. Air inlet structure; 4. Cabin top structure; 5. Cabin bottom structure; 6. Air outlet structure; 7. Air inlet. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] In order to make the technical solution of the present invention clearer and more specific, the present invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Any equivalent replacement of the technical features of the technical solution of the present invention and any solution derived by conventional reasoning shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0020] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside" and "outside" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0021] Please see the attached Figure 1 The technical solution of this embodiment takes the lithium smelting protection technology in the preparation of spray-formed aluminum-lithium alloy as the research entry point, and designs and optimizes the structure and process parameters of the inert protection buffer cabin 1 to solve the problems of long time to establish the inert environment and large consumption of inert gas in the process of spray-forming aluminum-lithium alloy preparation. It provides a structure of an inert protection buffer cabin 1 for spray-forming aluminum-lithium alloy, including a buffer cabin 1. The lower end of the buffer cabin 1 is provided with an air inlet end structure 3 for the entry of inert protective gas on both sides. The air inlet end structure 3 is arranged on the bottom surface of the buffer cabin 1, and the two air inlet end structures 3 are respectively at a certain distance from the side wall surface of the buffer cabin 1. The upper end of the buffer cabin 1 is provided with a cabin top structure 4 for guiding the gas flow in the buffer cabin 1. The two cabin top structures 4 are symmetrically arranged with a 45° bevel angle structure, wherein the right angle side is 500mm. On both sides of the lower end of the buffer cabin 1, there are provided with a bottom structure 5 for guiding the gas flow in the buffer cabin 1. The bottom structure 5 is an arc structure with a radius of 250 mm, which is used to connect the air inlet end structure 3 and the inner wall of the buffer cabin 1; the top of the buffer cabin 1 is provided with an outlet structure 6 for gas discharge. There are two outlet structures 6 and they are distributed on the left and right sides of the top of the buffer cabin 1. The middle area of the buffer cabin 1 is provided with an aluminum liquid transfer vehicle 2 waiting for lithium smelting.

[0022] In this embodiment, the air inlet end structure 3 is arranged on both sides of the bottom surface of the buffer cabin 1 and is symmetrically distributed on the left and right. The air inlet end structure 3 is in the shape of a narrow and long pipe, 2500mm long. One end of the air inlet end structure 3 is connected to the external inert gas source. The two side surfaces of the air inlet end structure 3 are arranged in an arc transition and are respectively connected to the bottom structure 5 and the ground of the buffer cabin 1. The top of the air inlet end structure 3 is arranged in an arc convex manner, and the top of the air inlet end structure 3 is evenly arranged along its length direction with a plurality of air inlets 7. The air inlet 7 is The rectangular slit air inlet is arranged with its long side along the length direction of the air inlet end structure 3, and the protective gas ejected from the air inlet 7 forms a plane jet. 250 air inlets are evenly distributed on the air inlet end structure 3; the air inlet process parameters include the air inlet area and the air inlet pressure. The air inlet area is 6mm×1.5mm, of which the long side is 6mm, and the air inlet 7 pressure is 0.2MPa. The process parameters can speed up the filling rate of the inert protective gas while reducing the consumption of the inert gas.

[0023] When the molten aluminum transfer vehicle 2 reaches the designated position in the buffer cabin 1, the rectangular slit air inlet 7 on the air inlet end structure 3 begins to fill with argon inert gas, while the air outlet structure 6 discharges the gas outward to maintain a moderate pressure in the entire buffer cabin 1. The cabin top structure 4 ensures that the argon gas flows evenly and quickly when it reaches the top of the buffer cabin, and at the same time can reduce the gas retention in the dead corners of the space; the cabin bottom structure 5 can guide the gas flow and prevent the air flow from interweaving with each other at the wall surface and sucking in to form a vortex structure. The formation of the vortex causes negative pressure to exist all the time, which has an adverse effect on the flow field uniformity and argon replacement effect in the buffer cabin. The rectangular slit air inlet 7 makes the ejected argon gas more orderly, and the flow field inside the buffer cabin 1 is less turbulent. At the same time, the reasonable setting of the process parameters of the rectangular slit air inlet can reduce the consumption of argon while speeding up the argon filling rate. Compared with the smelting protection of the traditional buffer tank 1, the argon replacement efficiency of the smelting protection system of the new buffer tank 1 of the present invention is higher, and oxygen can be removed more quickly to reduce it to an acceptable concentration, thereby shortening the waiting process before lithium addition smelting and being less affected by oxygen during the lithium addition smelting process.

[0024] The aluminum-lithium alloy ingots prepared by the present invention are subjected to hydrogen content testing to evaluate the protective effect of the present invention. The test results show that the hydrogen content meets industry standards and is far lower than the smelting protection of the traditional buffer tank 1. The present invention has a better smelting protection effect.

[0025] The present invention has the following beneficial effects: Utilizing the smelting protection system of the present invention can improve the performance of aluminum-lithium alloys produced by spray forming, reduce the hydrogen content within the aluminum-lithium alloy, and simultaneously reduce the consumption of inert shielding gas, thereby lowering energy consumption and costs. The protection system can provide protection for the smelting of aluminum-lithium alloys with lithium, as well as for the smelting of other active metals, offering high production flexibility.

[0026] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A spray-formed aluminum-lithium alloy inert protection buffer cabin structure, comprising a buffer cabin (1), characterized in that: An air inlet structure (3) for inert protective gas to enter is provided on both sides of the lower end of the buffer cabin (1); a cabin roof structure (4) for guiding the flow of gas in the buffer cabin is provided on both sides of the upper end of the buffer cabin (1); the two cabin roof structures (4) are beveled chamfered structures arranged symmetrically on both sides; a cabin bottom structure (5) for guiding the flow of gas in the buffer cabin is provided on both sides of the lower end of the buffer cabin (1); the cabin bottom structure is a circular arc surface structure connecting the air inlet structure (3) and the inner side wall of the buffer cabin; an air outlet structure (6) for gas discharge is provided on the top of the buffer cabin; and an aluminum liquid transfer vehicle (2) waiting for lithium smelting is provided in the middle area of the buffer cabin; The air inlet end structure (3) is arranged on both sides of the bottom surface of the buffer cabin (1) and is symmetrically distributed on the left and right sides. The air inlet end structure (3) is in the shape of a narrow and long pipe. A plurality of air inlets (7) are evenly arranged on the top of the air inlet end structure along its length. The air inlets (7) are in a rectangular slit structure, and the protective gas ejected from the air inlets forms a plane jet.

2. The spray-formed aluminum-lithium alloy inert protection buffer cabin structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The top of the air inlet end structure (3) is arranged in a convex arc shape, and the long side direction of the air inlet (7) is arranged along the length direction of the air inlet end structure (3).

3. The spray-formed aluminum-lithium alloy inert protection buffer cabin structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The area of the air inlet (7) is 6 mm×1.5 mm, wherein the long side is 6 mm, and the pressure of the air inlet (7) is 0.2 MPa.

4. The spray-formed aluminum-lithium alloy inert protection buffer cabin structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The air inlet end structure (3) is arranged on the bottom surface of the buffer cabin, and the two air inlet end structures (3) are at a certain distance from the side wall surface of the buffer cabin.

5. The spray-formed aluminum-lithium alloy inert protection buffer cabin structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cabin roof structure (4) is a 45° beveled chamfered structure.

6. The spray-formed aluminum-lithium alloy inert protection buffer cabin structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are two air outlet structures (6) distributed on both sides of the top of the buffer cabin (1).

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