Failure nickel alloys

Chrome—nickel alloy heating elements that commonly ate used in low temperature furnaces are not suitable above the very low end of the range. Elements commonly used as resistors are either silicon carbide, carbon, or high temperature metals, eg, molybdenum and tungsten. The latter impose stringent limitations on the atmosphere that must be maintained around the heating elements to prevent rapid element failure (3), or the furnace should be designed to allow easy, periodic replacement. 

Weeton, J. W., Mechanisms of Failure of High Nickel-Alloy Turbojet Combustion... 

Early studies of carbon monoxide chemisorbed on copper-nickel alloys were complicated by the failure to realize the importance of dissolved hydrogen when the experiments were conducted (10). However recent infrared studies have shown that addition of 1 to 2% copper to nickel causes the band to shift to lower frequencies due to linear chemisorbed carbon monoxide (11). This shift supports the idea that copper and dissolved hydrogen have similar modifying effects on the electronic properties of the nickel. An argument developed below, based on the spectral changes, shows that these modifying effects are consistent with the view that electrons are transferred to the nickel. 

One other area in which the use of molybdenum disulphide may be undesirable for pre-assembly or anti-seize use is when nickel alloys are used in critical applications, especially at high temperatures. Such alloys are extensively used in aviation gas turbine engines, and there have been cases in which serious failures of gas turbines have been attributed to the effect of molybdenum disulphide-based lubricants on high-temperature components Provided these two hazards are kept in mind, molybdenum disulphide dispersions and pastes are of great value as antiseize compounds and as assembly aids. 

IMaterials and Scaling Issues. Two aspects of the basically simple desalination process require special attention. One is the high corrosivity of seawater, especially pronounced in the higher temperature distillation processes, which requires the use of corrosion-resistant, and therefore expensive, materials. Typical materials in use are copper—nickel alloys, stainless steel, titanium, and, at lower temperatures, fiber-reinforced polymers and special concrete compositions (39). It is noteworthy that in quest of a lower initial cost, the use of inadequate materials of constmction in many locations combined with poor operation by virtually untrained hands led to rapid deterioration and failure of plants long before their estimated design life. Adequate experience suggests by now how to avoid such failures. The other aspect is scale formation (40,41), discussed in mote detail below. 

Carbon Steel. Carbon steel is commonly used without danger of SCC up to 50% NaOH and 54°C. At high NaOH concentrations and temperatures, welds and stressed zones are prone to failure unless stresses are relieved. Figs. 14.29 and 14.30 show the caustic embrittling characteristics of steels and nickel alloys [33,34]. 

The Ohmatex Company weaves a very fine constantan (copper-nickel alloy consisting of 55% copper and 45% nickel, Davis et al., 2001) wire into a textile ribbon. This has been used in the Edema medical stocking for measuring changes in leg volume for heart failure patients. This textile ribbon can also be used to measure vibration in large stractures such as wind turbine blades (Ohmatex, 2015). 

Corrosion behavior. General corrosion rates for 90-10 and 70-30 copper-nickel alloys in seawater are low, ranging between 25 and 2.5 p,m y 1. For the majority of applications, these rates would allow the alloys to last the required hfetime, and there would be little probability of their premature failure in service due to such a corrosion mechanism. ... 

Chlorine. Vertical vaporizers, often with built-in superheat capability, are used. Special instrumentation is required, specifically designed for chlorine service. Base designs are carbon steel. However, if during steamout or cleaning, etc., water is left in the chlorine space, acid is formed that will cause extremely rapid corrosion (hours), often resulting in failure. For this reason, tubes or tubesheets may be used in nickel alloys such as Monel, Inconel 600, and Incoloy 800. 

The bellows is formed from a length of thin-walled tubing by extmsion in a die. The metals used in the constmction of the bellows must be ductile enough for reasonably easy fabrication and have a high resistance to fatigue failure. Materials commonly used are brass, bronze, beryllium copper, alloys of nickel and copper, steel, and Monel (5). 

These requirements severely limit our choice of creep-resistant materials. For example, ceramics, with their high softening temperatures and low densities, are ruled out for aero-engines because they are far too brittle (they are under evaluation for use in land-based turbines, where the risks and consequences of sudden failure are less severe - see below). Cermets offer no great advantage because their metallic matrices soften at much too low a temperature. The materials which best fill present needs are the nickel-based super-alloys. 

To explain the mechanism by which the formation of Ni3S2 scale can result in the fatigue failure of the blade disc, the effect of sulfur on the mechanical properties of nickel base alloys must be understood. Since the fracture modes are totally intergranular with evidence of... 

Steels and stainless steels show preferential nucleation of pits at inclusions, most notably sulphide inclusions ". Other sulphur-rich regions in ferrous and nickel-based alloys may also lead to premature failure. It has been shown that accumulation of sulphur on the surface of these materials retards passivity and enhances dissolution of the metal. These effects occur in any solution in which the metal shows an active region and they are also preferential pitting sites in the presence of chloride. A recent notion for... 

Continued exposure of the nickel-chromium alloy to more severely sulphurising and reducing atmospheres results in local depletion of chromium to such an extent that nickel sulphide and the eutectic are formed internally. The latter constituents are not often observed in service failures, but the relative instability of nickel sulphide in the presence of chromium sulphide can result in its reduction to nickel during slow cooling on shut down. That nickel sulphide is formed is suggested by the frequent occurrence of blisters, associated with the formation of molten eutectic on the surface of sulphur-attacked specimens . 

---