Preparation of γ-TiAl Alloys via Self-Propagating Aluminothermic Reduction–Slag Washing Refining Coupled with Vacuum Arc Remelting

Conventional titanium alloy production based on the Kroll process features high energy consumption and long procedures, making low-cost, short-process fabrication a research focus in titanium metallurgy. In this work, low-interstitial γ-TiAl alloys were prepared via a coupled self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS)–slag washing refining–vacuum arc remelting (VAR) process using TiO2 as the raw material. Slag washing refining was performed at 1750 ◦C with 150 g of CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-CaF2 mold flux and 1.5 wt.% Ca, followed by VAR under a vacuum of 10−2–10−3 Pa. γ-TiAl alloy with a composition of Ti 66.01 ± 0.5 wt.%, Al 33.8 ± 0.5 wt.%, O 0.054 ± 0.002 wt.%, N 0.046 ± 0.005 wt.%, and C 0.085 ± 0.008 wt.% was obtained, and the inclusion size was refined to 0–3 µm. This coupled approach provides a scalable, low-cost route for the industrial preparation of low-interstitial γ-TiAl alloys. Publication: Materials, 2026. Document type: Peer-reviewed journal paper. DOI: 10.3390/ma19081650 Source: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/19/8/1650 Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Publisher-hosted open-access PDF, reproduced without modification. Primary subject: Alloy Metallurgy.