Beryllium is used in high-tech fields Beryllium is a material with special properties, some of its properties, especially nuclear properties and physical properties, cannot be replaced by any other metal materials. The application range of beryllium is mainly concentrated in the nuclear industry, weapon systems, aerospace industry, X-ray instruments, electronic information systems, automotive industry, household appliances and other fields. With the gradual deepening of the research, the scope of its application has a tendency to expand.

At present, the application of plating and its products is mainly metal beryllium, beryllium alloy, oxide plating and some beryllium compounds.

beryllium metal

The density of metal beryllium is low, and the Young’s modulus is 50% higher than that of steel. The modulus divided by the density is called the specific elastic modulus. The specific elastic modulus of beryllium is at least 6 times that of any other metal. Therefore, beryllium is widely used in satellites and other aerospace structures. Beryllium is light in weight and high in stiffness, and is used in inertial navigation systems for missiles and submarines that require precise navigation.

The typewriter reed beryllium made of beryllium alloy has good thermal properties, and has excellent properties such as high melting point, high specific heat, high thermal conductivity and suitable thermal expansion rate. Therefore, beryllium can be used to directly absorb heat, such as in re-entry spacecraft, rocket engines, aircraft brakes and space shuttle brakes.

Beryllium is used as a shielding material in the core of some nuclear fission reactors to improve the efficiency of fission reactions. Beryllium is also being experimented with as the lining of thermonuclear fusion reactor vessels, which is superior to graphite from a nuclear contamination point of view.

Highly polished beryllium is used in infrared observation optics for satellites and the like. Beryllium foil can be prepared by hot rolling method, vacuum molten ingot direct rolling method and vacuum evaporation method, which can be used as the material of transmission window for accelerator radiation, X-ray transmission window and camera tube transmission window. In a sound reinforcement system, because the faster the speed of sound, the higher the resonance frequency of the amplifier, the greater the range of sound that can be heard in the high-pitched area, and the sound propagation speed of beryllium is faster than that of other metals, so beryllium can be used as a high-quality sound. The vibrating plate of the loudspeaker.

Beryllium Copper Alloy

Beryllium copper, also known as beryllium bronze, is the “king of elasticity” in copper alloys. After solution aging heat treatment, high strength and high electrical conductivity can be obtained. Dissolving about 2% beryllium in copper can form a series of beryllium copper alloys that are about twice as strong as other copper alloys. And maintain high thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. It has excellent processing performance, non-magnetic, and does not produce sparks when impacted. Therefore, it has a wide range of uses, mainly in the following aspects.

Used as conductive elastic element and elastic sensitive element. More than 60% of the total production of beryllium bronze is used as elastic material. For example, it is widely used in the electronics and instrument industries as switches, reeds, contacts, contacts, diaphragms, diaphragms, bellows and other elastic elements.

Used as sliding bearings and wear-resistant components. Due to the good wear resistance of beryllium bronze, beryllium bronze is used to make bearings in computers and many civil airliners. For example, American Airlines replaced copper bearings with beryllium bronze, and the service life was increased from 8000h to 28000h. The transmission lines of electric locomotives and trams are made of beryllium bronze, which is not only corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant, high-strength, but also has good electrical conductivity.

Used as a safety explosion-proof tool. In petroleum, chemical, gunpowder and other environmental work, because beryllium bronze does not produce gunpowder when it is impacted, various operating tools can be made of bronze-plated, and have been used in various explosion-proof work.

Beryllium Copper Die
Application in plastic molds. Because beryllium copper alloy has high hardness, strength, good thermal conductivity and castability, it can directly cast molds with extremely high precision and complex shapes, with good finish, clear patterns, short production cycle, and old mold materials can be reused. cut costs. It has been used as plastic mold, pressure casting mold, precision casting mold, corrosion mold and so on.
Applications of highly conductive beryllium copper alloys. For example, Cu-Ni-Be and Co-Cu-Be alloys have high strength and electrical conductivity, and the conductivity can reach 50% IACS. Mainly used for contact electrodes of electric welding machines, elastic components with high conductivity in electronic products, etc. The application range of this alloy is gradually expanding.

Beryllium Nickel Alloy

Beryllium-nickel alloys such as NiBe, NiBeTi ​​and NiBeMg have ultra-high strength and elasticity, high electrical conductivity, compared with beryllium bronze, its working temperature can be increased by 250~300 ° C, and fatigue strength, wear resistance, heat resistance The properties and corrosion resistance are relatively high. Important elastic components that can work below 300 degrees Celsius are mainly used in precision machinery, aviation instruments, electronics and instrument industries, such as automatic navigation components, teletype reeds, aviation instrument springs, relay reeds, etc.

Beryllium oxide

Beryllium oxide powder Beryllium oxide is a white ceramic material whose appearance is very similar to other ceramics such as alumina. It is an excellent electrical insulator, but also has unique thermal conductivity. It is suitable for use as a heat-absorbing insulating material in electronic devices. For example, when assembling power transistors or similar devices, the heat generated can be removed in time on the beryllium oxide substrate or base, and the effect is much stronger than using fans, heat pipes or a large number of fins. Therefore, beryllium oxide is mostly used in a variety of high-power electronic circuit systems and microwave radar devices such as klystrons or traveling wave tubes.

A new use for beryllium oxide is in certain lasers, especially argon lasers, to meet the increased power demands of modern lasers.

beryllium aluminum alloy

Recently, Brush Wellman Company of the United States has developed a series of beryllium aluminum alloys, which are superior to the base aluminum alloys in terms of strength and stiffness, and are expected to be used in many aerospace sectors. And Electrofusion has been used to make high-quality horn housings, car steering wheels, tennis rackets, wheel drag and auxiliary devices and racing cars.

In a word, beryllium has excellent properties and plays an important role in high-tech fields and in improving the performance and quality of many products. Special attention should be paid to the application of beryllium materials.

Alternatives to Beryllium

Certain metal-based or organic composites, high-strength grades of aluminum, pyrolytic graphite, silicon carbide, steel, and tantalum can be substituted for beryllium metal or beryllium composites. Copper alloys or phosphor bronze alloys (copper-tin-phosphorus alloys) containing nickel, silicon, tin, titanium and other alloying components can also replace beryllium copper alloys. But these alternative materials can impair product performance. Aluminum nitride and boron nitride can replace beryllium oxide.