Zirconium modified nickel-copper alloy

An improved material for use in a catalytic reactor which reduces nitrogen oxide from internal combustion engines is in the form of a zirconium-modified, precipitation-strengthened nickel-copper alloy. This material has a nominal composition of Ni-30 Cu-0.2 Zr and is characterized by improved high temperature mechanical properties

Creep degradation in oxide-dispersion-strengthened alloys

Oxide dispersion strengthened Ni-base alloys in wrought bar form are studied for creep degradation effects similar to those found in thin gage sheet. The bar products evaluated included ODS-Ni, ODS-NiCr, and three types of advanced ODS-NiCrAl alloys. Tensile test specimens were exposed to creep at various stress levels at 1365 K and then tensile tested at room temperature. Low residual tensile properties, change in fracture mode, the appearance of dispersoid-free bands, grain boundary cavitation, and internal oxidation in the microstructure were interpreted as creep degradation effects. This work showed that many ODS alloys are subject to creep damage. Degradation of tensile properties occurred after very small amounts of creep strain, ductility being the most sensitive property. All the ODS alloys which were creep damaged possessed a large grain size. Creep damage appears to have been due to diffusional creep which produced dispersoid-free bands around boundaries acting as vacancy sources. Low angle and possibly twin boundaries acted as vacancy sources

Creep and residual mechanical properties of cast superalloys and oxide dispersion strengthened alloys

Tensile, stress-rupture, creep, and residual tensile properties after creep testing were determined for two typical cast superalloys and four advanced oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys. The superalloys examined included the nickel-base alloy B-1900 and the cobalt-base alloy MAR-M509. The nickel-base ODS MA-757 (Ni-16CR-4Al-0.6Y2O3 and the iron-base ODS alloy MA-956 (Fe-20Cr-5Al-0.8Y2O3) were extensively studied, while limited testing was conducted on the ODS nickel-base alloys STCA (Ni-16Cr-4.5Al-2Y2O3) with a without Ta and YD-NiCrAl (Ni-16Cr-5Al-2Y2O3). Elevated temperature testing was conducted from 114 to 1477 K except for STCA and YD-NiCrAl alloys, which were only tested at 1366 K. The residual tensile properties of B-1900 and MAR-M509 are not reduced by prior creep testing (strains at least up to 1 percent), while the room temperature tensile properties of ODS nickel-base alloys can be reduced by small amounts of prior creep strain (less than 0.5 percent). The iron-base ODS alloy MA-956 does not appear to be susceptible to creep degradation at least up to strains of about 0.25 percent. However, MA-956 exhibits unusual creep behavior which apparently involves crack nucleation and growth

High temperature mechanical properties of a zirconium-modified, precipitation- strengthened nickel, 30 percent copper alloy

A precipitation-strengthened Monel-type alloy has been developed through minor alloying additions of zirconium to a base Ni-30Cu alloy. The results of this exploratory study indicate that thermomechanical processing of a solution-treated Ni-30Cu-0.2Zr alloy produced a dispersion of precipitates. The precipitates have been tentatively identified as a Ni5Zr compound. A comparison of the mechanical properties, as determined by testing in air, of the zirconium-modified alloy to those of a Ni-30Cu alloy reveals that the precipitation-strengthened alloy has improved tensile properties to 1200 K and improved stress-rupture properties to 1100 K. The oxidation characteristics of the modified alloy appeared to be equivalent to those of the base Ni-30Cu alloy

Diffusional creep and creep degradation in the dispersion-strengthened alloy TD-NiCr

Dispersoid-free regions were observed in TD-NiCr (Ni-20Cr-2ThO2) after slow strain rate testing in air from 1145 to 1590 K. Formation of the dispersoid-free regions appears to be the result of diffusional creep. The net effect of this creep is the degradation of TD-NiCr to a duplex microstructure. Degradation is further enhanced by the formation of voids and integranular oxidation in the thoria-free regions. These regions apparently provided sites for void formation and oxide growth since the strength and oxidation resistance of Ni-20Cr is much less than Ni-20Cr-2ThO2. This localized oxidation does not appear to reduce the static load bearing capacity of TD-NiCr since long stress rupture lives were observed even with heavily oxidized microstructures. But this oxidation does significantly reduce the ductility and impact resistance of the material. Dispersoid-free bands and voids were also observed for two other dispersion strengthened alloys, TD-NiCrAl and IN-853. Thus, it appears that diffusional creep is charactertistic of dispersion-strengthened alloys and can play a major role in the creep degradation of these materials

Method and apparatus for gripping uniaxial fibrous composite materials

A strip specimen is cut from a unidirectional strong, brittle fiber composite material, and the surfaces of both ends of the specimen are grit blasted. The specimen is then placed between metal load transfer members having grit blasted surfaces. Sufficient compressive stress is applied to the load transfer members to prevent slippage during testing at both elevated temperatures and room temperatures. The need for adhesives, load pads, and other secondary composite processing is eliminated. This gripping system was successful in tensile testing, creep rupture testing, and fatigue testing uniaxial composite materials at 316 C

Estimated heats of fusion of fluoride salt mixtures suitable for thermal energy storage applications

The heats of fusion of several fluoride salt mixtures with melting points greater than 973 K were estimated from a coupled analysis of the available thermodynamic data and phase diagrams. Simple binary eutectic systems with and without terminal solid solutions, binary eutectics with congruent melting intermediate phases, and ternary eutectic systems were considered. Several combinations of salts were identified, most notable the eutectics LiF-22CaF2 and NaF-60MgF2 which melt at 1039 and 1273 K respectively which posses relatively high heats of fusion/gm (greater than 0.7 kJ/g). Such systems would seemingly be ideal candidates for the light weight, high energy storage media required by the thermal energy storage unit in advanced solar dynamic power systems envisioned for the future space missions

Effect of simulated Earth reentry exposure on mechanical properties of several oxide dispersion strengthened and superalloy sheet materials

The effects of simulated multiple reentry into the earth's atmosphere on the mechanical properties of several high temperature metallic sheet materials were evaluated. The materials included five tin-gage (nominally 0.025- or 0.037-cm) oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys and two thin-gage (nominally 0.037-cm) superalloys. Multiple reentry conditions were simulated through cyclic Plasma Arc Tunnel (PAT) exposure. PAT exposure generally consisted of 100 cycles of 600 second duration at 1255, 1366, or 1477 K in a Mach 4.6 airstream with an impact pressure of nominally 800 N/m2. PAT exposure generally produced a uniform oxide scale, oxide pits or intergranular oxidation, Kirkendall porosity, and alloy depletion zones except for the aluminum-containing ODS alloys. Only a uniform oxide scale was formed on the aluminum-containing ODS alloys. PAT exposure did not significantly affect the mechanical properties of the thin-gage (nominally 0.025- or 0.037-cm) alloys evaluated. Thus it appears that the microstructural changes produced by Plasma Arc Tunnel exposure has little influence on mechanical properties

Diffusion in thoriated and nonthoriated nickel and nickel-chromium alloys at 1260 C

Various solid-solid diffusion couples were assembled from thoriated and nonthoriated nickel-base alloys, welded, and diffusion annealed at 1260 C. Concentration profiles indicated that a thoria dispersion does not affect diffusion in Cr(alloy):Ni and Ni-4.8Al:Ni types of couples unless a fine grain structure is retained by the thoria particles. Metallography revealed the presence of thoria-free bands in the thoriated-Ni side of the diffusion zone. The bands contained grain boundaries and, in some cases, non-Kirkendall porosity. A mechanism based on the operation of vacancy sources is proposed to explain the thoria-free bands. In addition, a particular DS-NiCr:Ni couple had negligible Kirkendall porosity. This behavior was related to the grain structure of the particular lot of DS-NiCr

Thermal expansion method for lining tantalum alloy tubing with tungsten

A differential-thermal expansion method was developed to line T-111 (tantalum - 8 percent tungsten - 2 percent hafnium) tubing with a tungsten diffusion barrier as part of a fuel element fabrication study for a space power nuclear reactor concept. This method uses a steel mandrel, which has a larger thermal expansion than T-111, to force the tungsten against the inside of the T-111 tube. Variables investigated include lining temperature, initial assembly gas size, and tube length. Linear integrity increased with increasing lining temperature and decreasing gap size. The method should have more general applicability where cylinders must be lined with a thin layer of a second material