Behaviour of Impurities during Electron Beam Melting of Copper Technogenic Material

Katia Vutova; Vladislava Stefanova; Vania Vassileva; Milen Kadiyski

doi:10.3390/ma15030936

Behaviour of Impurities during Electron Beam Melting of Copper Technogenic Material

Materials (Basel). 2022 Jan 26;15(3):936. doi: 10.3390/ma15030936.

Authors

Katia Vutova¹, Vladislava Stefanova², Vania Vassileva¹, Milen Kadiyski³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1784 Sofia, Bulgaria.
² Department of Metallurgy of Non-Ferrous Metals and Semiconductors Technologies, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 1756 Sofia, Bulgaria.
³ Aurubis Bulgaria AD, Industrial Zone, 2070 Pirdop, Bulgaria.

Abstract

The current study presents the electron beam melting (EBM) efficiency of copper technogenic material with high impurity content (Se, Te, Pb, Bi, Sn, As, Sb, Zn, Ni, Ag, etc.) by means of thermodynamic analysis and experimental tests. On the basis of the calculated values of Gibbs free energy and the physical state of the impurity (liquid and gaseous), a thermodynamic assessment of the possible chemical interactions occurring in the Cu-Cu₂O-Me_x system in vacuum in the temperature range 1460-1800 K was made. The impact of the kinetic parameters (temperature and refining time) on the behaviour and the degree of removal of impurities was evaluated. Chemical and metallographic analysis of the obtained ingots is also discussed.

Keywords: copper technogenic material; electron beam; removal efficiency; thermodynamic analysis.