Abstract
A study is carried out of the spheroidization of ceramic and metallic powders using induction plasma technology. The process is based on the central injection of the powder in the plasma discharge followed by the in-flight cooling and solidification of the molten droplets prior to their collection at the bottom of a stainless-steel water cooled chamber. The degree of spheroidization is evaluated using image analysis. The results are correlated as a function of the powder feed rate, the plasma operating conditions and the thermophysical properties of the powders treated. The model's fit to the obtained experimental data is very good. The results show that the technology can be successfully used for the spheroidization and densification of a wide range of materials.
