NSF Award
9417428
9417428 Rao Description: This project supports collaboration between Dr. Ramana G. Reddy, Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Nevada at Reno, and Dr. P. Krishna Rao, Department of Metallurgical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Bombay. The topic relates to the factors controlling the properties of intermetallic aluminides during processing from the primary metals. The properties of superalloys depend to a large extent on the segregation phenomena associated with solidification. Electroslag refining (ESR) is one method for controlling the parameters of the melt and therefore the final product. The focus of this project is on investigating the effect of ESR processing on the microstructure and tensile properties of structure intermetallics. The scientists propose to: 1. evaluate, collate, and generate the physico chemical data for molten slags for ESR of intermetallic aluminides; and 2. assess the efficiency and reliability of various existing mathematical models and where necessary develop new models to predict the physico chemical properties of fluxes. The scientists at Reno will work on data-base generation, and the development of mathematical models, while scientists at Bombay will process the various intermetallic aluminides and study the structural-property correlation. Scope: This project brings two complementary capabilities, at the U. of Nevada, Reno, and at the IIT, Bombay, to conduct a fundamental chemical engineering study, with the objective of understanding the relationship between the slag conditions and properties of the resulting alloys. The work is likely to lead to developing better models for these relationships that can be used for design and processing of various materials. The collaboration should be beneficial to the U.S. and India and should advance scientific knowledge in the area of metallurgy in general. The project meets INT's objectives well. ***
