Quantification of the Conditions Leading to the Formation of Defects in SX Superalloy Processing

Completed

Not Energy Related
Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electric power conversion)
Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Oil and gas combustion)

Basic and strategic applied research

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Metallurgy and Materials)

Not Cross-cutting

Professor PD Lee
Materials
University of Manchester

Standard

EPSRC

01 April 2004

30 September 2007

42 months

£310,399

Materials sciences

North West

Metals Programme -- Materials, Mechanical and Medical Eng

Professor PD Lee, Materials, University of Manchester

Professor K Mills, Materials, Imperial College London

Project Contact, Rolls-Royce PLC
Project Contact, Cannon Muskegon Corporation, USA
Project Contact, Siemens Power Generation, Inc (SPGI), USA
Project Contact, University of Florida, USA
Project Contact, Pratt & Whitney, USA
Project Contact, Solar Turbines, USA
Project Contact, Alstom Power Ltd

The programme will, in conjunction with a parallel NSF project at the University of Florida, identify the principal factors causing the formation of solidification defects in single crystal superalloy castings. The Imperial College project will focus on measuring the critical materials properties controlling the mechanisms that cause defects for alloy compositions and at temperatures appropriateto the melting range of advanced commercial and experimental SX superalloys. Particular attention will be paid to the role of refractory element additions (W, Re, Ru) and grain boundary modifiers (C, Hf) that have a profound effect on casting characteristics at low concentrations. The material properties are required required for quantification of numerical models of solidification and defect formation. Advanced measurement facilities at the National Physical Laboratory will be used for density, viscosity and surface tension characteriastion; techniques for measurement of liquid state solutediffusion will be refined within the programme. The measured constants will be incorporated in numerical models to simulate SX casting

01/01/07