Titanium-aluminum-based intermetallics

Researchers have tried to fabricate plates using many different metals— mainly, stainless steel, aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, nickel alloys, copper alloys, intermetallic alloys, and metal-based composites such as carbon fiber-reinforced aluminum alloys, carbon fiber reinforced copper alloys, etc. [26]. Although Ta, Hf, Nb, Zr, and Ti metals show good corrosion resistance and chemical stability [6], the cost of fhese metals is too high for them to be used as materials in metal plates. That is why relatively cheaper iron-based alloys, particularly stainless steel, have been popularly studied as plate material. In the following secfions, we will infroduce sfainless sfeel (SS) and SS plates, which have been extensively investigated and show promise for the final applications [6,11]. 

Nickel-based alloys, which form the bulk of alloys produced, are basically nickel-chrome alloys with a face-centered cubic solid-solution matrix containing carbides and the coherent intermetallic precipitate y-NijlAfTi). This latter precipitate provides most of the alloy strengthening and results in useful operating temperatures up to 90% of the start of melting. Further additions of aluminum, titanium, niobium, and tantalum are made to combine with nickel in the y phase, and additions of molybdenum, tungsten, and chromium strengthen the solid solution matrix. 

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