Team from ORNL and NETL develop alloy for Additive Manufacturing crack-free, lightweight turbine blades
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Tennessee, USA, and the US National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), have developed and additively manufactured a light, crack-free alloy capable of operating at temperatures above 1,316ºC (2,400ºF) without melting.
The alloy combines seven elements in a niobium-rich, complex concentrated alloy whose melting point is at least 48% higher than the nickel and cobalt superalloys previously developed by ORNL. Researchers fine-tuned the electron beam melting process to additively manufacture test parts from the novel alloy.
“No one has been able to develop and print alloys with such a high melting temperature and low density without cracks before,” said ORNL’s Saket Thapliyal. While certain metals (e.g. tungsten) can take the heat, they would add too much weight to an airplane. “This is significant. We’re making something lighter that can hold its structural integrity at ultra-high temperatures.”
The new alloy’s light weight and ability to withstand such high temperatures could enable additively manufactured turbine blades to better handle extreme temperatures, reducing the carbon footprint of gas turbine engines like those found in airplanes.
