Vacuum induction furnace smelting method of magnetically soft alloy

Abstract

The invention provides a vacuum induction furnace smelting method for soft magnetic alloy. The vacuum induction furnace smelting method comprises the following steps of S1, raw material selection and pretreatment, S2, vacuum induction furnace preparation, S3, smelting process control, S4, cooling process control, S5, alloy detection and analysis, S6, smelting process parameter adjustment and S7, smelting procedure repeated optimization. And the chemical purity and uniformity of the magnetically soft alloy are improved, so that the magnetic properties, including magnetic conductivity and saturation flux density, of the alloy are enhanced, and meanwhile, the coercive force and the electrical resistivity are reduced. Through smelting in the vacuum environment, introduction of impurity elements in the smelting process is effectively reduced, and high purity of the alloy is ensured, so that the quality and performance stability of the product are improved. By accurately controlling the temperature and time in the smelting process and adopting the electromagnetic stirring technology, uniform distribution of alloy elements is promoted, formation of non-metallic inclusions is reduced, and the microstructure of the alloy is further optimized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of soft magnetic alloy smelting methods, in particular to a vacuum induction furnace smelting method for soft magnetic alloys. Background Art

[0002] Soft magnetic alloy is a special alloy, which is mainly composed of iron and other metal elements. This alloy has ferromagnetic properties. It not only has high magnetic permeability and high saturation magnetic induction intensity, but also has important characteristics such as low coercivity and resistivity. Due to these unique physical properties, soft magnetic alloys are widely used in the manufacture of various precision electronic equipment, such as transformers, relays, magnetic amplifiers, and magnetizers. These application fields have extremely high requirements on the performance of soft magnetic alloys. Therefore, the magnetism of soft magnetic alloys is closely related to many metallurgical factors such as its chemical composition, alloy purity, trace added elements, and uniformity of alloy element distribution.

[0003] In the existing smelting technology, the production process of soft magnetic alloys usually adopts induction furnace or electric arc furnace for melting. However, these traditional melting methods often make it difficult to ensure the uniform distribution and high purity of alloy elements, which directly affects the magnetic properties of soft magnetic alloys. In addition, during the smelting process, due to various technical limitations, impurities are easily introduced. The presence of these impurities will further cause the magnetic properties of the alloy to become unstable, thus affecting the quality and performance of the final product.

[0004] Therefore, developing a smelting method that can effectively control the distribution of alloy elements and improve the purity and magnetic properties of alloys is a technical problem that needs to be urgently solved in the current field of soft magnetic alloy production. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a vacuum induction furnace smelting method for soft magnetic alloys to solve the problem that it is often difficult to ensure uniform distribution and high purity of alloy elements in the prior art, which directly affects the magnetic properties of soft magnetic alloys. In addition, during the smelting process, due to various technical limitations, impurities are easily introduced, and the presence of these impurities will further cause the magnetic properties of the alloy to become unstable, thereby affecting the quality and performance of the final product.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solution: The present invention provides a vacuum induction furnace smelting method for soft magnetic alloy, comprising the following steps:

[0007] S1. Selection and pretreatment of raw materials:

[0008] Select high-purity raw materials to ensure the purity of base metals and alloy elements such as iron, nickel, and cobalt to reduce the content of impurity elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, sulfur, and phosphorus;

[0009] S2. Preparation of vacuum induction furnace:

[0010] Put the selected raw materials into the vacuum induction furnace, start the vacuum induction furnace for smelting, and control the vacuum degree during the smelting process to reduce the introduction of impurity elements;

[0011] S3. Control of smelting process:

[0012] During the smelting process, the temperature and time are precisely controlled to ensure uniform distribution of alloy elements and avoid the formation of non-metallic inclusions;

[0013] S4. Control of cooling process:

[0014] After smelting, the alloy is slowly cooled to reduce thermal stress and grain coarsening, and to improve the alloy's magnetic properties and process plasticity;

[0015] S5. Detection and analysis of alloys:

[0016] Conduct chemical composition analysis and magnetic property tests on the smelted soft magnetic alloy to ensure that the alloy meets the design requirements;

[0017] S6. Adjustment of smelting process parameters:

[0018] According to the test results, adjust the smelting process parameters to optimize the chemical composition and magnetic properties of the alloy;

[0019] S7. Repeated optimization of smelting process:

[0020] Repeat steps S1 to S6 until a soft magnetic alloy product that meets all technical requirements is obtained.

[0021] Preferably, in the smelting method, in step S2, the vacuum degree during the smelting process is controlled to be no less than 10^-3 Torr to ensure that the amount of impurity elements introduced during the smelting process is minimized.

[0022] Preferably, in the smelting method, the temperature and time are precisely controlled in step S3, including maintaining the smelting temperature within the range of 1500° C. to 1600° C. for at least 1 hour to promote sufficient diffusion and uniform distribution of alloy elements.

[0023] Preferably, in the smelting method, the slow cooling rate in step S4 is controlled to not exceed 50° C. per hour to prevent excessive grain growth and generation of thermal stress.

[0024] Preferably, in the smelting method, the chemical composition analysis in step S5 includes detecting the content of impurity elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, etc., and ensuring that the content of these elements is lower than 10ppm, 5ppm, 100ppm, 5ppm and 100ppm, respectively.

[0025] Preferably, in the smelting method, adjusting the smelting process parameters in step S6 includes adjusting the raw material ratio, smelting temperature and holding time to optimize the magnetic properties and mechanical properties of the alloy so that they meet or exceed industry standards.

[0026] Preferably, in the smelting method, selecting high-purity raw materials in step S1 also includes pre-treating the raw materials to remove surface oxides and other possible contamination.

[0027] Preferably, in the smelting method, ensuring uniform distribution of alloy elements in step S3 further comprises adopting electromagnetic stirring technology to promote uniform mixing of elements in the alloy melt.

[0028] Preferably, in the smelting method, optimizing the chemical composition and magnetic properties of the alloy in step S6 also includes heat treating the smelted alloy to further improve its microstructure and magnetic properties.

[0029] The present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0030] The invention provides a vacuum induction furnace smelting method for a soft magnetic alloy, which improves the chemical purity and uniformity of the soft magnetic alloy, thereby enhancing the magnetic properties of the alloy, including magnetic permeability and saturation magnetic induction intensity, while reducing coercive force and resistivity.

[0031] By smelting in a vacuum environment, the introduction of impurity elements during the smelting process is effectively reduced, ensuring the high purity of the alloy, thereby improving the quality and performance stability of the product.

[0032] By precisely controlling the temperature and time during the smelting process and using electromagnetic stirring technology, the uniform distribution of alloying elements is promoted, the formation of non-metallic inclusions is reduced, and the microstructure of the alloy is further optimized.

[0033] The slow cooling process reduces thermal stress and grain coarsening, improves the magnetic properties and process plasticity of the alloy, and is beneficial for subsequent processing and application.

[0034] Chemical composition analysis and magnetic property testing ensure that the alloy meets the design requirements. By adjusting the smelting process parameters, the performance of the alloy can be further optimized to meet or exceed industry standards.

[0035] By repeatedly optimizing the smelting process until a soft magnetic alloy product that meets all technical requirements is obtained, the quality consistency of the final product is ensured.

[0036] The smelting method of the present invention has good operability and repeatability, is suitable for large-scale production, helps to improve production efficiency and reduce costs, and has good application prospects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this specification have the same meanings as those commonly understood by technicians in the technical field to which the invention belongs. The terms used in this specification and in the description of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not used to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

[0038] Example

[0039] A vacuum induction furnace smelting method for soft magnetic alloy may include the following steps:

[0040] S1. Selection and pretreatment of raw materials

[0041] In the manufacturing process, the first step is to carefully select high-purity base metals and alloying elements such as iron, nickel, and cobalt as raw materials. In order to ensure the purity of the raw materials, materials with a purity of 99.99% or more must be selected. Before smelting, it is essential to thoroughly pre-treat these raw materials, which includes removing surface oxides and other potential contaminants to ensure purity before smelting, thereby laying a solid foundation for the subsequent smelting process.

[0042] S2. Preparation of vacuum induction furnace

[0043] After the pretreatment of the raw materials, the next step is to place these carefully selected and processed raw materials into a vacuum induction furnace. Before smelting begins, it is necessary to ensure that the vacuum degree of the vacuum induction furnace reaches at least 10^-3 Torr. This strict vacuum environment is essential to reduce the introduction of impurity elements during the smelting process and helps maintain the high purity and excellent performance of the alloy.

[0044] S3. Control of smelting process

[0045] Start the vacuum induction furnace and begin the smelting process. During the smelting process, precise control of temperature and time is crucial. The smelting temperature should be strictly controlled within the range of 1500℃ to 1600℃ and maintained at this temperature for at least 1 hour to ensure that the alloy elements can be fully diffused and evenly distributed. In addition, the use of advanced electromagnetic stirring technology can further promote the uniform mixing of elements in the alloy melt, thereby improving the overall quality of the alloy.

[0046] S4. Control of cooling process

[0047] After smelting, slow cooling of the alloy is a key step. The cooling rate needs to be strictly controlled at a rate not exceeding 50°C per hour, which can effectively reduce the problems of thermal stress and excessive grain growth. Through this controlled cooling method, the magnetic properties and process plasticity of the alloy can be significantly improved, laying a good foundation for subsequent processing and application.

[0048] S5. Detection and analysis of alloys

[0049] The smelted soft magnetic alloy needs to go through a series of tests and analyses to ensure that its chemical composition and magnetic properties meet the design requirements. Chemical composition analysis includes precise detection of the content of impurity elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, sulfur, and phosphorus to ensure that the content of these elements is less than 10ppm, 5ppm, 100ppm, 5ppm, and 100ppm respectively. Magnetic property testing is used to evaluate whether the magnetic properties of the alloy meet the predetermined technical standards, thereby ensuring that the performance of the alloy reaches the expected level.

[0050] S6. Adjustment of smelting process parameters

[0051] According to the results of chemical composition analysis and magnetic properties test, necessary adjustments are made to the smelting process parameters. These parameters may include the ratio of raw materials, smelting temperature, holding time, etc. By adjusting these parameters, the chemical composition and magnetic properties of the alloy can be optimized to ensure that the final product can meet or exceed industry standards and meet customer needs.

[0052] S7. Repeated optimization of smelting process

[0053] By repeatedly executing the above steps S1 to S6, the smelting process is continuously optimized until a soft magnetic alloy product that fully meets all technical requirements is obtained. This continuous optimization process is the key to ensuring the consistency of final product quality and performance stability, and is also an indispensable link in the manufacture of high-quality soft magnetic alloys.

[0054] The invention provides a vacuum induction furnace smelting method for a soft magnetic alloy, which improves the chemical purity and uniformity of the soft magnetic alloy, thereby enhancing the magnetic properties of the alloy, including magnetic permeability and saturation magnetic induction intensity, while reducing coercive force and resistivity.

[0055] By smelting in a vacuum environment, the introduction of impurity elements during the smelting process is effectively reduced, ensuring the high purity of the alloy, thereby improving the quality and performance stability of the product.

[0056] By precisely controlling the temperature and time during the smelting process and using electromagnetic stirring technology, the uniform distribution of alloying elements is promoted, the formation of non-metallic inclusions is reduced, and the microstructure of the alloy is further optimized.

[0057] The slow cooling process reduces thermal stress and grain coarsening, improves the magnetic properties and process plasticity of the alloy, and is beneficial for subsequent processing and application.

[0058] Chemical composition analysis and magnetic property testing ensure that the alloy meets the design requirements. By adjusting the smelting process parameters, the performance of the alloy can be further optimized to meet or exceed industry standards.

[0059] By repeatedly optimizing the smelting process until a soft magnetic alloy product that meets all technical requirements is obtained, the quality consistency of the final product is ensured.

[0060] The present invention provides a vacuum induction furnace smelting method for soft magnetic alloys, which can effectively control the distribution of alloy elements, improve the purity and magnetic properties of the alloy, thereby solving the problems existing in the prior art, and has good operability and repeatability, and is suitable for large-scale production.

[0061] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit them. Under the concept of the present invention, the technical features in the above embodiments or different embodiments may also be combined, the steps may be implemented in any order, and there are many other changes in different aspects of the present invention as above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of simplicity. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they may still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vacuum induction furnace smelting method for soft magnetic alloy, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1. Selection and pretreatment of raw materials: Select high-purity raw materials to ensure the purity of base metals and alloy elements such as iron, nickel, and cobalt to reduce the content of impurity elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, sulfur, and phosphorus; S2. Preparation of vacuum induction furnace: Put the selected raw materials into the vacuum induction furnace, start the vacuum induction furnace for smelting, and control the vacuum degree during the smelting process to reduce the introduction of impurity elements; S3. Control of smelting process: During the smelting process, the temperature and time are precisely controlled to ensure uniform distribution of alloy elements and avoid the formation of non-metallic inclusions; S4. Control of cooling process: After smelting, the alloy is slowly cooled to reduce thermal stress and grain coarsening, and to improve the alloy's magnetic properties and process plasticity; S5. Detection and analysis of alloys: Conduct chemical composition analysis and magnetic property tests on the smelted soft magnetic alloy to ensure that the alloy meets the design requirements; S6. Adjustment of smelting process parameters: According to the test results, adjust the smelting process parameters to optimize the chemical composition and magnetic properties of the alloy; S7. Repeated optimization of smelting process: Repeat steps S1 to S6 until a soft magnetic alloy product that meets all technical requirements is obtained.

2. The vacuum induction furnace smelting method of a soft magnetic alloy according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the smelting method, in step S2, the vacuum degree during the smelting process is controlled to be no less than 10^-3 Torr to ensure that the amount of impurity elements introduced during the smelting process is minimized.

3. The vacuum induction furnace smelting method of a soft magnetic alloy according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the smelting method, the temperature and time are precisely controlled in step S3, including maintaining the smelting temperature within the range of 1500° C. to 1600° C. for at least 1 hour to promote sufficient diffusion and uniform distribution of alloy elements.

4. The vacuum induction furnace smelting method of a soft magnetic alloy according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the smelting method, the slow cooling rate in step S4 is controlled to be no more than 50° C. per hour to prevent excessive grain growth and generation of thermal stress.

5. The vacuum induction furnace smelting method of soft magnetic alloy according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the smelting method, the chemical composition analysis in step S5 includes detecting the contents of impurity elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, etc., and ensuring that the contents of these elements are lower than 10ppm, 5ppm, 100ppm, 5ppm and 100ppm respectively.

6. The vacuum induction furnace smelting method of soft magnetic alloy according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the smelting method, adjusting the smelting process parameters in step S6 includes adjusting the raw material ratio, smelting temperature and holding time to optimize the magnetic properties and mechanical properties of the alloy so that they meet or exceed industry standards.

7. The vacuum induction furnace smelting method of soft magnetic alloy according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the smelting method, the selection of high-purity raw materials in step S1 also includes pre-treating the raw materials to remove surface oxides and other possible contaminations.

8. The vacuum induction furnace smelting method of soft magnetic alloy according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the smelting method, ensuring uniform distribution of alloy elements in step S3 also includes using electromagnetic stirring technology to promote uniform mixing of elements in the alloy melt.

9. The vacuum induction furnace smelting method of soft magnetic alloy according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the smelting method, optimizing the chemical composition and magnetic properties of the alloy in step S6 also includes heat treating the smelted alloy to further improve its microstructure and magnetic properties.