Making turbines more efficient: Trade Shows & Events

Metals containing niobium silicide are promising materials that can withstand high temperatures and improve efficiency of gas turbines in power plants and aircraft. But it has been difficult to accurately determine mechanical properties of these metals due to their complex crystal structures.

Scientists at Kyoto University in Japan now have measured what happens at the microlevel when pressure is applied to tiny samples of these materials. The approach, which was published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, could help scientists obtain the accurate measurements needed to understand the atomic-level behavior of complex crystals and develop more heat-tolerant components for gas turbines.

“Our results demonstrate the cutting edge of research into plastic deformation behavior in crystalline materials,” said study corresponding author Kyosuke Kishida.

Plastic deformation describes the distortion that occurs at the atomic level when a sustained force is applied to a crystal. This is difficult to measure in complex crystals. He and his colleagues have been using a new approach to systematically measure plastic deformation in crystals showing promise for use in high-temperature gas turbines.

Shown are scanning electron microscopy secondary electron images of deformed micropillar specimens with the four loading axis orientations tested in the study.