Inventors:
Hani A. M. Abodishish - Ogden UT
Randy W. Wahlquist - Ogden UT
Dale A. Lopez - South Weber UT
Assignee:
Westinghouse Electric Corp. - Pittsburgh PA
International Classification:
C22B 502
Abstract:
The pyrophoric fines inevitably resulting from the crushing of zirconium and/or hafnium or other exotic metal fines, such as titanium and uranium, are brought into contact with molten magnesium or a molten mixture of magnesium and magnesium chloride in the usual vacuum distillation furnace so that their surfaces are wetted by the molten material, after which furnace temperature is dropped to solidify the molten material about the fines. Furnace temperature is then raised to that required to vaporize the magnesium and magnesium chloride, whereupon sintering of the fines takes place over a period of time.