Main application fields of tantalum niobium materials
●metallurgical industry
All kinds of stainless steel and special steel are the main consumption of tantalum and niobium.
●electronic industry, medical equipment
Tantalum, niobium and their alloys are key materials in electronic industry. Modern electric vacuum devices are developing towards high power, stability, reliability, miniaturization and high life. Tantalum niobium material plays an irreplaceable role in high-power emission tube and magnetron. For example, the filament, anode, grid, various supports and vacuum sealing parts of high-power emission tube are all kinds of deep-processing products of tantalum niobium, with an annual consumption of 200-500 tons in the world. In the electric light source industry, the annual demand of niobium wire and tube for high pressure sodium lamp is about 110 tons in the world. High precision thin tantalum sheet is the key material of CT collimator and detector. The global annual demand for tantalum is about 2 tons. Tantalum alloy and niobium alloy can be used to make anode target of X-ray tube. As a connecting, resistance expanding and conducting layer, tantalum niobium alloy sputtering target can be used to manufacture large-scale integrated circuit chips with an annual global demand of about 230 tons; target can be used to manufacture TFT-LCD flat panel displays with a global demand of about 200 tons of niobium.
●aerospace and defense industries
Tantalum and niobium are widely used as structural materials. Tantalum niobium materials are often indispensable in the nozzle, throat lining, missile shell and other aspects of aerospace engines. The demand for space niobium is about 300 tons, and other military industries use more tantalum niobium.
● nuclear power industry
In countries where tantalum niobium alloy plates are used as shielding walls in nuclear power plants, such as the United States, France and Japan, the shielding walls are all made of 2.5-4.0 × 450-500 × 450-500 mm plates. In 2017, the European Atomic Energy Center proposed the purchase intention of 30 tons of such niobium plates. It is used to make protective tile, heat dissipation element and divertor expanding element material in tokmak device.
● high temperature furnace industry
Tantalum niobium material is widely used in the manufacture of high-temperature industrial furnaces because of its unique high-temperature resistance, conductivity and thermal conductivity. Generally, 0.3-2.0 × 300-1000 × LMM plate is used as the heat shield of furnaces. In addition, as a high-temperature structural material, furnace support, material frame and material frame also have a large demand for thick tantalum niobium plate.