Technology of Producing Cast Billets Made of a High-Temperature Composite Material Based on the Nb–Si System

FGUP VIAM has developed a technology for producing cast billets of a high-temperature composite material based on the Nb–Si system. This technology includes the fabrication of a Si–Cr–Al–Y master alloy, the assembling of a consumable electrode, its remelting a vacuum arc furnace, and the subsequent remelting of the resulting ingot in a vacuum induction furnace in an yttrium oxide–based crucible. This technology can be used to achieve a homogeneous chemical composition of an alloy close to the calculated one and low content of oxygen impurities.