The Processing and Bulk Properties of New Low-Activation High-Entropy Alloys

新型低活化高熵合金的加工和整体性能

• 批准号: 2744799
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Manchester
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2744799
• 关键词: Processing; Bulk; Properties; New; Low

Moving towards net-zero electricity production is critical for the UK's energy security and to reduce the impact of climate change. Nuclear fusion power is a prime candidate for long-term production of green electricity in the future. A number of existing metallic alloys have been proposed for use inside future fusion reactors, including in the plasma-facing components that experience the most challenging conditions. However, there remains a real possibility that these alloys are not suitable for use in such environments, since they have not been tested under the extreme conditions they will face (i.e., a high flux of fast neutrons and temperatures above 500C). Hence, there is a strong argument that new fusion-focussed alloys be designed and investigated to maximise our chances of a successful outcome.High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are a relatively new class of alloys that have generated a lot of interest in the materials science community over recent years. Instead of being based around one principal alloying element (e.g., Fe in steels), they comprise multiple elements in high concentrations. This design philosophy has opened up a huge range of alloy compositions that have not been explored before. Some work has been started on designing low-activation HEAs for fusion, i.e., alloys are less likely to become radioactive for a long period of time following exposure to fusion reactor conditions (and hence won't have to be deposed of as long-life radioactive waste).This project will 'scale-up' work on new low-activation HEA compositions that have already shown some promise, with particular focus on the VCrMnFeAlx suite of alloys (where x varies between 0 and 1). These alloys have been shown to exhibit good thermal stability, and some also exhibit some interesting microstructures that could lead to high-temperature strength. However, to date these compositions have only been assessed using very small quantities of material, so their bulk mechanical properties (e.g., stress-strain curves, high-temperature properties) have not been measured. Neither have their responses to bulk thermomechanical treatments that might be used during their large-scale manufacture. Hence, this project will use larger castings (on the scale of a few kgs) to assess such properties. Advanced high-resolution characterisation techniques will be used alongside conventional mechanical testing. All the results that are produced from these tests will be novel, since they have not been measured before for these alloys. Importantly, the results should indicate whether these materials are likely to be suitable for use in future fusion reactors.

朝着零净电力生产迈进对英国的能源安全至关重要，并减少气候变化的影响。核融合能力是将来长期生产绿色电力的主要候选人。已经提出了许多现有的金属合金在未来的融合反应堆内使用，包括在面积最具挑战性条件的面向等离子体的组件中。但是，这些合金不适合在这种环境中使用，因为在它们将面临的极端条件下没有进行测试（即，快速中子和高于500C的温度的高通量）。因此，有一个有力的论点是，设计和研究了新的以融合的合金来最大程度地提高我们成功的结果的机会。High-entropy Alloys（HEAS）是近年来对材料科学界非常感兴趣的相对较新的合金。它们没有基于一个主要合金元素（例如，钢中的Fe），而是高浓度的多个元素。这种设计理念开辟了以前从未探索过的各种合金构图。 Some work has been started on designing low-activation HEAs for fusion, i.e., alloys are less likely to become radioactive for a long period of time following exposure to fusion reactor conditions (and hence won't have to be deposed of as long-life radioactive waste).This project will 'scale-up' work on new low-activation HEA compositions that have already shown some promise, with particular focus on the VCrMnFeAlx suite of alloys (where x在0到1之间变化。这些合金已显示出表现出良好的热稳定性，有些合金还表现出一些有趣的微观结构，这些微观结构可能导致高温强度。但是，迄今为止，这些组合物仅使用非常少量的材料进行评估，因此尚未测量它们的大量机械性能（例如，应力 - 应变曲线，高温特性）。他们对大规模制造过程中可能使用的批量热机械处理的反应。因此，该项目将使用较大的铸件（以几公斤的规模）来评估此类特性。高级高分辨率特征技术将与常规机械测试一起使用。这些测试产生的所有结果都将是新颖的，因为这些合金之前尚未测量它们。重要的是，结果应表明这些材料是否可能适合在将来的融合反应堆中使用。