Materials Science World Congress

Nanostructured super alloys are a novel class of material that is to be designed for extraordinary performance at high temperature, high pressure, and even under severe corrosive conditions. Super alloys, for instance, are very useful in industries like aerospace, power generation, and heavy manufacturing where equipment that withstands mechanical and thermal stresses reaches extreme levels. Nanotechnology added another dimension to the existing super alloys, offering significant enhancement in performance and durability mainly due to manipulation at the Nano scale.

The traditional super alloys, with mostly nickel, cobalt, or iron, are well engineered to maintain strength, stability, and corrosion resistance up to high temperatures. Nano structuring techniques enable researchers to fine-tune these alloys further with a controlled distribution and size of their microstructural features and end up having a finer grain structure, which otherwise would have considerably improved mechanical properties such as creep resistance, tensile strength, and fatigue life.

The key to the performance of nanostructured super alloys therefore is the potential to stabilize Nano phases—ultra-fine particles or precipitates dispersed throughout the alloy matrix. Nano phases are strong obstacles to dislocation movement-the principal agent of deformation in metals. Severely limiting this movement, nanostructured super alloys attain superior high-temperature strengths and avoid the degradation typical of conventional alloys with time.

In aerospace, nanostructured super alloys are used in the production of turbine blades and jet engines and other vital components that are designed to operate with perfection above 1,000°C or 1,832°F. Super alloys are also employed in gas turbines in power plants. Here they contribute to high thermal efficiency that serves to increase the overall energy output and reduce the gases emitted. More importantly, their excellent oxidation and corrosion resistance makes them suitable for demanding applications as seen in chemical processing plants and oil refineries, for instance.

Nano structuring also unlocks further possibilities for lightweight super alloys in the same way as this reduces the weights of components without sacrificing their performance. This is particularly important to aerospace and automotive industries; material weight plays a direct effect on fuel efficiency and overall operational costs.

The prospects for nanostructured super alloys are bright, since there is work presently under way directed toward novel alloy composition and processing methods. Additive manufacturing and powder metallurgy are being integrated with Nano structuring methods; this affords much greater control over the final material properties and facilitates designing custom alloys for their intended application.

Nanostructured Super alloys: Some of the most advanced material technologies will ultimately come of age in environments that demand unprecedented strength, durability, and resistance to thermal stress. The unexplored areas of aerospace, energy, and industry await critical development in these materials.