Tantalum Coil Tube — Product Technical Specification

1. Product Overview

The Tantalum Coil Tube (product reference: Coiltube, Serial No. 746) is a precision-engineered continuous tubular product manufactured by Wenzhou Jixing Metal Materials Co., Ltd. This product is formed from high-purity tantalum metal or tantalum alloys, wound into a continuous coil configuration to facilitate downstream processing, cutting, and fabrication. Tantalum coil tubes are distinguished by their exceptional corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, and stable performance under extreme chemical environments, making them indispensable in high-purity industrial, medical, and aerospace applications.

Unlike straight seamless tubes, coil tubes offer significant advantages in material utilization, transportation efficiency, and processing flexibility. The continuous coil form factor eliminates the need for butt welding between individual tube segments, thereby reducing defect rates and improving overall product integrity.

2. Material & Properties

The coil tube is fabricated from commercially pure tantalum (CP Ta) or tantalum alloys meeting international material standards. Key material characteristics are summarized below:

• Base Material: Tantalum (Ta, Atomic Number 73), purity ≥ 99.95%
• Alloy Variants: Ta-W (Tungsten) up to 10 wt%, Ta-Ir (Iridium) for enhanced creep resistance
• Density: 16.65 g/cm³
• Melting Point: 3017 °C (5463 °F)
• Corrosion Resistance: Immune to all mineral acids (including concentrated sulfuric acid H₂SO₄, hydrochloric acid HCl, and nitric acid HNO₃) except hot concentrated hydrofluoric acid (HF) and concentrated sulfuric acid above 150 °C
• Biocompatibility: ISO 10993 compliant; suitable for implant-grade applications
• Electrical Resistivity: 228 μΩ·cm (at 20 °C)
• Thermal Conductivity: 57.9 W/(m·K) at 20 °C
• Young's Modulus: 186 GPa
• Maximum Service Temperature: 300 °C (CP Ta), up to 600 °C (Ta-W alloy)

3. Specifications

Parameter	Specification / Range	Standard Reference
Outer Diameter (OD)	3.0 mm – 25.0 mm	ASTM B290 / GB/T 3649
Wall Thickness	0.20 mm – 2.00 mm	ASTM B290
Coil Inner Diameter (ID)	76 mm – 200 mm (standard); custom available	Manufacturer standard
Coil Length (per spool)	10 m – 50 m (typical); continuous supply available	—
Surface Finish	Machined (Ra ≤ 0.8 μm), Pickled & Passivated (Ra ≤ 0.4 μm), or Mirror Polished (Ra ≤ 0.1 μm)	ASTM B290, Section 7
Dimensional Tolerance (OD)	± 0.05 mm (precision grade); ± 0.10 mm (standard grade)	ASTM B290
Dimensional Tolerance (Wall)	± 0.02 mm (precision grade); ± 0.05 mm (standard grade)	ASTM B290
Roundness / Ovality	≤ 0.5% of nominal OD	ASTM B290
Straightness (per meter)	≤ 0.3 mm	ISO 13071
Material Grade	Grade A (CP Ta ≥ 99.95%), Grade B (Ta-W 90/10), Grade C (Ta-Ir)	ASTM B290, AMS 4911
Packaging	Stainless steel protective sleeve, VCI (Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor) treated, wooden crate or export-grade carton	ISO 4180

4. Manufacturing Process

The production of tantalum coil tubes follows a rigorous multi-stage process designed to ensure dimensional accuracy, metallurgical integrity, and surface quality. The process flow is outlined below:

4.1 Raw Material Preparation

• Tantalum Ingot Casting: High-purity tantalum powder (purity ≥ 99.95%) is consolidated via vacuum arc melting (VAM) or electron beam melting (EBM) into master ingots. Chemical composition is verified by Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) to confirm trace element levels.
• Ingot Homogenization: Cast ingots undergo homogenization annealing at 1000–1200 °C in a hydrogen (H₂) or vacuum atmosphere for 24–72 hours to eliminate segregation and relieve residual casting stresses.

4.2 Extrusion & Pipe Formation

• Hot Extrusion: Homogenized ingots are heated to 1100–1300 °C and extruded through a die to form hollow tube blanks. The extrusion ratio is typically 3:1 to 8:1, controlled to ensure uniform wall thickness and minimize centerline defects.
• Piercing & Drawing: Alternatively, solid bars may be pierced using a hydraulic piercing mill to produce seamless tube blanks, followed by multiple passes of rotary or cross-die drawing to achieve target OD and wall dimensions.

4.3 Cold Drawing & Dimensional Refinement

• Multi-Pass Cold Drawing: Tube blanks are cold-drawn through progressively smaller tungsten carbide (WC) or diamond dies to achieve final dimensions. Intermediate annealing at 800–950 °C in high-purity hydrogen atmosphere (dew point ≤ −60 °C) is performed between drawing passes to restore ductility and prevent cracking.
• Coil Winding: The drawn tube is wound onto a precision mandrel to form the coil configuration. Winding tension is controlled to prevent deformation, kinking, or inter-coil contact damage. Tension control systems maintain ± 5% winding force accuracy.

4.4 Surface Treatment & Finishing

• Pickling & Passivation: Coils are treated with a controlled acid pickling solution (diluted HCl + HNO₃ mixture) to remove surface oxides, scale, and contamination. The process is followed by passivation in dilute HNO₃ to form a stable protective oxide layer (Ta₂O₅).
• Ultrasonic Cleaning: Final cleaning is performed using deionized water (resistivity ≥ 18.2 MΩ·cm) with ultrasonic agitation to achieve surface cleanliness levels suitable for critical applications.
• Mirror Polishing (Optional):strong> Electropolishing or mechanical polishing may be applied to achieve Ra ≤ 0.1 μm surface finish for semiconductor or pharmaceutical applications.

4.5 Quality Inspection & Testing

• Destructive Testing: Tensile testing per ASTM E8/E8M, hardness testing (Vickers HV), and metallographic examination per ASTM E3 for grain structure and defect analysis.
• Non-Destructive Testing (NDT): Eddy current testing (ECT) for surface and near-surface defect detection; radiographic testing (RT) per ASTM E94 for internal discontinuities.
• Dimensional Inspection: Automated laser diameter measurement, ultrasonic wall thickness gauging, and optical profile scanning for roundness and straightness verification.
• Chemical Analysis: Full elemental analysis per ASTM E1443 (spark OES) and ASTM E1453 (ICP-OES) for trace impurities.
• Corrosion Testing: Immersion testing in specified acid solutions (H₂SO₄, HCl, HNO₃) at elevated temperatures per ASTM G1 for minimum 72 hours.

5. Applications

Tantalum coil tubes find critical applications across multiple high-technology industries due to their unmatched combination of corrosion resistance, purity, and mechanical stability:

• Chemical Processing & Petrochemical Industry: Reactor linings, heat exchanger tubes, distillation column internals, and piping systems handling aggressive acids (H₂SO₄, HCl, HNO₃, HF dilute). The coil form enables seamless integration into complex process piping layouts.
• Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology: Sterilizable processing lines, bioreactor components, and fluid transfer systems requiring high-purity, non-reactive materials. Tantalum's biocompatibility and corrosion resistance ensure product integrity and regulatory compliance (FDA, EU GMP).
• Semiconductor Manufacturing: Gas delivery lines (CVD, PVD, Etch systems), wet chemical processing equipment, and ultra-high purity (UHP) fluid handling. Mirror-polished coil tubes minimize particle generation and contamination.
• Medical & Implant Industry: Surgical instrument components, implant-grade tubing for stents, catheters, and orthopedic devices. Ta's excellent biocompatibility and fatigue resistance are well-established in clinical applications.
• Aerospace & Defense: Jet engine components, rocket thrust chamber liners, and high-temperature structural tubing where oxidation resistance and thermal stability are paramount.
• Environmental & Waste Treatment: Acid recovery systems, wastewater treatment equipment, and hazardous waste handling apparatus exposed to highly corrosive environments.

6. Quality Certifications & Standards Compliance

Wenzhou Jixing Metal Materials Co., Ltd. maintains a comprehensive quality management system and product certification framework to ensure consistent product quality and regulatory compliance:

Certification / Standard	Description
ISO 9001:2015	Quality Management System certification covering all manufacturing and quality assurance processes
ASTM B290	American Society for Testing and Materials — Standard Specification for Tantalum and Tantalum Alloy Tube
GB/T 3649	Chinese National Standard — Tantalum and Tantalum Alloy Tubes
AMS 4911	Aerospace Material Specification — Tantalum Alloy Bar, Sheet, Strip, and Tube
ISO 10993	Biological Evaluation of Medical Devices (for implant-grade tantalum products)
EN 10204 / EN 10204 3.1	European Standard — Type 3.1 Inspection Certificate (test report based on inspection by authorized personnel)
RoHS / REACH	Restriction of Hazardous Substances / Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals compliance
NACE MR0175 / ISO 15156	Oil and Gas Industry — Materials for use in H₂S-containing environments (where applicable)
Mill Test Reports (MTR)	Full traceability documentation provided per heat number, including chemical composition, mechanical properties, and NDT results

7. Unique Selling Points

• Superior Corrosion Immunity: Tantalum's virtually unmatched resistance to all mineral acids ensures decades of service life in the most aggressive chemical environments, drastically reducing maintenance and replacement costs.
• Coil Form Factor Advantage: The continuous coil configuration maximizes material utilization (up to 98% yield rate), eliminates butt-weld joints, reduces installation labor, and provides ready-to-cut stock for custom-length requirements.
• Full Traceability: Every coil is traceable to its originating heat number with complete documentation of chemical analysis, mechanical testing, and NDT results, ensuring supply chain transparency and regulatory audit readiness.
• Customization Capability: Wenzhou Jixing offers tailored OD, wall thickness, surface finish, coil diameter, and packaging configurations to meet specific customer requirements, supported by experienced engineering and technical support teams.
• Multi-Grade Availability: Product range spans CP Ta (Grade A) through Ta-W and Ta-Ir alloys (Grade B, C), providing customers with optimal material selection for their specific application requirements.
• Integrated Quality Assurance: In-house laboratory capabilities for OES chemical analysis, tensile testing, hardness testing, metallographic examination, and eddy current NDT ensure comprehensive quality verification at every production stage.

Note: All specifications and dimensions are subject to engineering review and customer approval prior to production. Custom specifications beyond the ranges listed above may be accommodated upon request. Wenzhou Jixing Metal Materials Co., Ltd. reserves the right to update specifications based on continuous process improvement and evolving industry standards.