Melting, Casting, and Processing of Nickel and Iron Aluminides Vinod

The nickeland iron-aluminide alloys are an important class of materials because of their unique resistance to oxidizing, carburizing, and sulfidizing environments at high temperatures. They also provide an interesting combination of high-temperature strength and wear resistance. Many applications have been identified for these materials including: furnace fixtures, heating elements, pumps, hydroturbines, and forging and extrusion dies. Because of the large aluminum content of the aluminides, most conventional material vendors are reluctant to melt large-size heats of these materials. The purpose of this paper is to describe a newly developed furnaceloading scheme that permits commercial melting of nickel and iron aluminides. Along with melting, the paper also provides data regarding the casting and processing of Ni3Aland Fe3Albase materials. Examples of commercial successes with component manufacturing of nickel and iron aluminides are also discussed.