Commercialization Status of Ni3Al-Based Alloys

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe Ni3Al-based alloys have been under development at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and other research institutions in the United States and around the world for the last ten years. The incremental developments of composition, melting process, casting methods, property data, corrosion data, weldability development, and prototype component testing under production-like operating conditions have pushed the ORNL-developed Ni3Al-based alloys closer to commercialization. This paper will present the highlights of incremental technical developments along with the approach and current status of commercialization. It is concluded that cast components are the primary applications of Ni3Al-based alloys, and applications range from heat-treating fixtures to forging dies. It is also concluded that the commercialization process is accelerated when technology is licensed to an organization that can produce the alloy, has component manufacturing capability, and is also a user.