Refractory metal annealing bands

Abstract

The invention relates to a process for making an annealing band, the process comprising (a) producing a refractory metal powder; or refractory metal alloy powder; (b) optionally blending the powder with an oxide component or a carbide component; (c) consolidating the powder or powder blend and forming a consolidated powder component; (d) subjecting the consolidated powder component to thermo-mechanical treatment and forming a sheet, or tube; (e) cutting the sheet into a strip; and (f) forming an annealing band from the strip. Then invention also relates to annealing bands and processes for using annealing bands.

1 . A process for making an annealing band, the process comprising: 
 (a) producing a refractory metal powder;    (b) optionally blending the powder with an oxide component or a nitride component or a carbide component;    (c) consolidating the powder or powder blend and forming a consolidated powder component;    (d) subjecting the consolidated powder component to thermo-mechanical treatment and forming a sheet;    (e) cutting the sheet into a strip; and    (f) forming an annealing band from the strip, wherein the annealing band excludes an annealing band consisting of copper and niobium.    
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the refractory metal is a component selected from the group consisting of (a) niobium, (b) tantalum, (c) molybdenum, (d) tungsten, (e) niobium alloys, (f) tantalum alloys, (g) molybdenum alloys, (h) tungsten alloys, (i) alloys of (1) a refractory metal and (2) a non-refractory metal selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, titanium, iron, cobalt, and (j) combinations thereof.  
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the annealing band has a uniform microstructure.  
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the powder has sufficiently low oxygen content to enable the powder to be consolidated and subjected to thermomechanical treatments.  
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the refractory metal powder has an oxygen content that is less than about 300 ppm.  
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the oxides are selected from the group consisting of magnesium oxide, silicon oxide, yttrium oxide, zirconia oxide, lanthanum oxide, hafnium oxide, calcium oxide and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the carbide component comprises carbides selected from the group consisting of TaC, WC, HfC, TiC, NbC, ZrC, stable carbides other than the foregoing, and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the powder is consolidated by a process selected from the group consisting of extrusion processes, hot isostatic pressing processes, pressing and sintering processes, and combinations of the foregoing.  
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the powder is consolidated at a temperature ranging from about room temperature to about 3300° F. by extrusion and the process has a reduction in area before extrusion and after extrusion of about 9:1.  
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the powder, optionally subjected to a pressing step, is consolidated by hot isostatic pressing.  
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 10 , wherein the hot isostatic pressing step is carried out by placing the powder in a hot isostatic pressing can, optionally coated with a barrier layer, evacuating the can, placing the can in a hot isostatic press vessel, and subjecting the vessel to hot isostatic pressing conditions at a pressure ranging from about 10 ksi to about 45 ksi, for a period ranging from about 1 hour to about 10 hours, at a temperature ranging from about 1500° F. to about 2600° F.  
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the powder is consolidated by pressing and sintering steps and the pressing step is selected from the group consisting of uniaxial pressing processes, cold isostatic pressing processes, and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 10 , wherein instead of subjecting the pressed powder to a sintering step, the pressed powder is subjected to resistance sintering conditions, wherein an electrical current passes through the powder to create sufficient heat to sinter the metal powder.  
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the thermomechanical treatment step comprises a combination of forging, rolling, and annealing steps.  
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein the forging step is carried out at a temperature ranging from about room temperature to about 1800° C. into a sheet bar having a thickness ranging from about 0.5″ to about 15″, a width ranging from about 2″ to about 60″, and a length ranging from about 2″ to about 30 ft.  
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 15 , wherein the sheet bar has a thickness of about 1.5 inches, a width of about 4.5 inches, and a length of about 40 inches.  
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein the rolling step comprises rolling a sheet bar into a sheet having a thickness ranging from about 0.010″ to about 0.5″, a width ranging from about 0.25″ to about 60″, and a length ranging from about 5″ to about 100 ft.  
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 17 , wherein the sheet has a thickness of about 4 millimeters, a width of about 30 inches, and a length of about 5 feet.  
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein the annealing step is carried out at a temperature ranging from about 850° C. to about 2000° C.  
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein the process further includes at least one intermediate annealing step.  
     
     
         21 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein the sheet is cut into a strip having a thickness ranging from about 0.01″ to about 0.5″, a width ranging from about 0.25″ to about 10″, and a length ranging from about 5″ to about 20 ft.  
     
     
         22 . The process of  claim 21 , wherein the strip is a niobium strip having a hardness ranging from about 60 Vickers to about 200 Vickers.  
     
     
         23 . The process of  claim 21 , wherein the strip is a molybdenum strip having a hardness ranging from about 190 Vickers to about 400 Vickers.  
     
     
         24 . The process of  claim 21 , wherein the strip is a tungsten strip having a hardness ranging from about 300 Vickers to about 600 Vickers.  
     
     
         25 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the annealing band is formed by placing the strip on a three point bender or any other forming method and shaping the strip into an annealing band.  
     
     
         26 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the annealing band has a thickness ranging from about 0.01″ to about 0.5″.  
     
     
         27 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the annealing band has a width ranging from about 0.25″ to about 10″.  
     
     
         28 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the annealing band has a diameter ranging from about 1.5″ to about 6 ft.  
     
     
         29 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the annealing band has a thickness of about 4 mm thick, a width ranging from about 20 to about 25 mm, and a diameter ranging from about 350 to about 500 mm.  
     
     
         30 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises attaching the annealing band to an annealing wheel assembly of an in-line annealer.  
     
     
         31 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the annealing band is 
 (i) open-ended, (ii) welded together, or (iii) open ended with overlapping beveled ends.    
     
     
         32 . The annealing band made from the process of  claim 1 .  
     
     
         33 . A member comprising a refractory metal annealing band, wherein the annealing band excludes an annealing band consisting of copper and niobium.  
     
     
         34 . The annealing band of  claim 32 , wherein the refractory metal is selected from the group consisting of (a) niobium, (b) tantalum, (c) molybdenum, (d) tungsten, (e) niobium alloys, (f) tantalum alloys, (g) molybdenum alloys, (h) tungsten alloys, (i) alloys of (1) a refractory metal and (2) a non-refractory metal selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, titanium, iron, cobalt, and (j) combinations thereof.  
     
     
         35 . The annealing band of  claim 34 , wherein the annealing band has a uniform microstructure.  
     
     
         36 . The annealing band of  claim 34 , wherein the annealing band has a thickness ranging from about 0.01″ to about 0.5″, a width ranging from about 0.25″ to about 10″, and a diameter ranging from about 1.5″ to about 6 ft.  
     
     
         37 . The annealing band of  claim 34 , wherein when the annealing band is used in an in-line wire annealer, wherein the annealing band remains useful for a period of more than 36 hours of continuous operation of the annealer.  
     
     
         38 . The annealing band of  claim 34 , wherein when the annealing band is used in an in-line wire annealer, the annealing band remains useful for a period of more than 160 hours of continuous operation of the annealer.  
     
     
         39 . A process for annealing a metal wire comprising: 
 (a) providing two annealing wheel assemblies, each assembly comprising a first annealing wheel, a second annealing wheel and an annealing band;    wherein the first annealing wheel and the second annealing wheel that are attached to each other each have a refractory metal annealing band, located between the first annealing wheel and the second annealing, for providing a contact area for a wire;    (b) passing a wire over the annealing bands of both annealing wheel assemblies;    (c) applying a voltage between the first annealing band and the second annealing band, and thereby passing a current to the wire under conditions that heat the wire to at least the annealing temperature of the wire, thereby annealing the wire, wherein at least one annealing band excludes an annealing band consisting of copper and niobium.    
     
     
         40 . The process of  claim 39 , wherein the wire is selected from the group consisting of copper wires, copper alloy wires, aluminum wires, aluminum alloy wires, steel wires, steel alloy wires, and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         41 . The process of  claim 39 , wherein the refractory metal is selected from the group consisting of (a) niobium, (b) tantalum, (c) molybdenum, (d) tungsten, (e) niobium alloys, (f) tantalum alloys, (g) molybdenum alloys, (h) tungsten alloys, (i) alloys of (1) a refractory metal and (2) a non-refractory metal selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, titanium, iron, cobalt, and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         42 . The process of  claim 39 , wherein the annealing band has a uniform microstructure.  
     
     
         43 . A process for making an annealing band comprising: 
 (a) cutting a sheet into a strip; and    (b) forming an annealing band from the strip;    wherein the metal sheet has been formed by subjecting a consolidated powder component to thermomechanical treatment;    wherein the consolidated powder component has been formed by consolidating a refractory metal powder into the consolidated powder component; and    wherein the powder has been optionally blended with an oxide component or a nitride component or a carbide component before it has been consolidated, wherein the annealing band excludes an annealing band consisting of copper and niobium.    
     
     
         44 . The process of  claim 43 , wherein the annealing band has a uniform microstructure.  
     
     
         45 . A process for making an annealing band comprising forming an annealing band from the strip; 
 wherein the strip has been cut from a sheet that has been formed by subjecting the consolidated powder component to thermomechanical treatment;    wherein the consolidated powder component has been formed by consolidating a refractory metal powder into the consolidated powder component, and    wherein the powder has been optionally blended with an oxide component or a nitride component, or a carbide component before it is consolidated, wherein the annealing band excludes an annealing band consisting of copper and niobium.    
     
     
         46 . The process of  claim 45 , wherein the annealing band has a uniform microstructure.  
     
     
         47 . A member comprising a refractory metal annealing band having a uniform microstructure, wherein the refractory metal is selected from the group consisting of (a) niobium, (b) tantalum, (c) molybdenum, (d) tungsten, (e) niobium alloys, (f) tantalum alloys, (g) molybdenum alloys, (h) tungsten alloys, (i) alloys of (1) a refractory metal and (2) a non-refractory metal selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, titanium, iron, cobalt, and (j) combinations thereof, and 
 wherein the annealing band has a thickness ranging from about 0.01″ to about 0.5″, a width ranging from about 0.25″ to about 10″, and a diameter ranging from about 1.5″ to about 6 ft, wherein the annealing band excludes an annealing band consisting of copper and niobium.    
     
     
         48 . The annealing band of  claim 47 , wherein the annealing band is made by a process comprising: 
 (a) producing a refractory metal powder;    (b) optionally blending the powder with an oxide component, or a nitride component, or a carbide component;    (c) consolidating the powder or powder blend and forming a consolidated powder component;    (d) subjecting the consolidated powder component to thermo-mechanical treatment and forming a sheet, or tube;    (e) cutting the sheet, or tube into a strip, or ring; and    (f) forming the annealing band from the strip, or ring, wherein the annealing band excludes an annealing band consisting of copper and niobium.    
     
     
         49 . The annealing band of  claim 47 , wherein the annealing band is made by a process comprising: 
 (a) cutting a sheet into a strip; and    (b) forming an annealing band from the strip;    wherein the metal sheet has been formed by subjecting the consolidated powder component to thermomechanical treatment;    wherein the consolidated powder component has been formed by consolidating a refractory metal powder; or refractory metal alloy powder into the consolidated powder component; and    wherein the powder has been optionally blended with an oxide component, or a nitride component or a carbide component before it has been consolidated.    
     
     
         50 . The annealing band of  claim 47 , wherein the annealing band is made by a process comprising forming an annealing band from a strip; 
 wherein the strip has been cut from a sheet that has been formed by subjecting the consolidated powder component to thermomechanical treatment; and    wherein the consolidated powder component has been formed by consolidating a refractory metal powder; or refractory metal alloy powder into the consolidated powder component,    wherein the powder is optionally blended with an oxide component or a nitride component, or a carbide component before it is consolidated, wherein the annealing band excludes an annealing band consisting of copper and niobium.    
     
     
         51 . The annealing band of  claim 47 , wherein the annealing band is a continuous gap-free annealing band.