Tantalum alloy
Since niobium and tantalum have similar properties, as functional and structural materials, they have common application fields or can replace each other in most cases. But in fact, due to the different resources and properties, the main application fields and usage vary greatly. Niobium resources are abundant, with large output and consumption; tantalum resources are scarce, and output and consumption are small. The following are the main application areas of tantalum and niobium:
1. Electronics industry: The dense oxide film formed on the surface of tantalum metal has the unidirectional conductivity of valve metal, and is suitable for making capacitors with high reliability and long life. It is widely used in military equipment such as missiles, radars, televisions, electronic computers, and mobile phones. and high-tech fields.
2. Steel industry: 85% to 90% of niobium in the world is used in steel production in the form of ferroniobium. It is the leading microalloying element for niobium steel. As an alloying element, niobium is widely used in oil transportation, natural gas pipelines, automobile industry, shipbuilding, rail transportation, construction industry, heavy machinery and port construction.
3. Atomic energy industry: Niobium has the advantages of high melting point, corrosion resistance, and relatively small thermal neutron capture cross-section. It is suitable for cladding tubes and superheaters for uranium heating elements in reactors.
4. Petroleum and chemical industry: Niobium and tantalum have high corrosion resistance, good strength and processing plasticity, and are excellent structural materials for chemical equipment.
5. Aerospace industry: Niobium-tantalum heat-strength alloy has good thermal strength, heat resistance and processing performance, and is widely used in the manufacture of aerospace engine parts and gas turbine blades.
6. Cemented carbide: Tantalum carbide is an important additive of cemented carbide, its hardness is second only to diamond. Tantalum carbide is widely used in mechanical processing, automobile industry, petroleum geological drilling tools, etc.
seven. Superconducting materials: Some niobium alloys and compounds have very high superconducting transition temperatures, and are used to manufacture various industrial superconductors, such as superconducting generators, high-power magnets for accelerators, superconducting magnetic energy storage devices, and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging equipment.
eight. Medical field: Tantalum niobium has good biocompatibility and physiological corrosion resistance. Medical tantalum and niobium are used in the manufacture of bone plates, skull plate screws, implant roots, surgical instruments, etc.
