Manufacturing and aging behavior of CuCr1Zr powder: Analysis and modelling of close-coupled gas atomization of CuCr1Zr and its impact on the melt beam disintegration and analysis powder oxidation kinetics

Powder bed-based additive manufacturing methods represent an increasingly vital role in industrial applications. Specifically, there has been considerable focus on highly reflective metals, such as CuCr1Zr, in recent years. However, current research primarily revolves around developing appropriate manufacturing parameters e. g. laser powder bed fusion (PBF/LB-M) and assessing the corresponding mechanical and electrical properties of CuCr1Zr. The impact of manufacturing routines and oxidation behavior of CuCr1Zr powder are seldom discussed in additive manufacturing. Therefore, the present study addresses the analysis of powder production and the oxidation behavior of CuCr1Zr powder via close-coupled gas atomization to analyze the disintegration of a CuCr1Zr melting jet during gas atomization of CuCr1Zr by using a high-speed camera. Critical conditions for secondary disintegration were calculated as a function of the initial gas pressure. Additionally, calorimetric measurements and isothermal oxidation experiments were conducted to quantify oxide formation and growth. According to the results, initial oxide formation occurs after 42 days with CuCr1Zr powder at room temperature in a nitrogen atmosphere. Subsequently, oxide growth follows a logarithmic law, associated with the formation and conversion of Cu2O 2 O to CuO.