Using a model-driven alloy design approach and laser-based additive manufacturing, materials scientists at NASA have developed a new oxide-dispersion-strengthened NiCoCr-based alloy. The mechanical results of GRX-810 show a twofold improvement in strength, over 1,000-fold better creep performance and twofold improvement in oxidation resistance compared with the traditional polycrystalline wrought Ni-based alloys used extensively in additive manufacturing at 1,093 degrees Celsius (2,000 degrees Fahrenheit).
GRX-810. Image credit: NASA / Jordan Salkin.
“Multiprincipal-element alloys are an enabling class of materials owing to their impressive mechanical and oxidation-resistant properties, especially in extreme environments,” said lead author Dr. Tim Smith, a researcher at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, and his colleagues.
“We developed a new oxide-dispersion-strengthened NiCoCr-based alloy using a model-driven alloy design approach and laser-based additive manufacturing.”
Current state-of-the-art 3D printed superalloys can withstand temperatures up to 1,093 degrees Celsius.
Compared to those, GRX-810 is twice as strong, over 1,000 times more durable, and twice as resistant to oxidation.
“This superalloy has the potential to dramatically improve the strength and toughness of components and parts used in aviation and space exploration,” Dr. Smith said.
“This new alloy is a major achievement,” added Dr. Dale Hopkins, deputy project manager of NASA’s Transformational Tools and Technologies project.
“In the very near future, it may well be one of the most successful technology patents NASA Glenn has ever produced.”
The researchers employed time-saving computer modeling, as well as a laser 3D printing process that fused metals together, layer-by-layer, to create the new alloy.
They used this process to produce the NASA logo pictured above.
“GRX-810 is an oxide dispersion strengthened alloy,” they said.
“In other words, tiny particles containing oxygen atoms spread throughout the alloy enhance its strength.”
“Such alloys are excellent candidates to build aerospace parts for high-temperature applications, like those inside aircraft and rocket engines, because they can withstand harsher conditions before reaching their breaking points.”
The study was published this week in the journal Nature.
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T.M. Smith et al. A 3D printable alloy designed for extreme environments. Nature, published online April 19, 2023; doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-05893-0
