TWI Technical Literature Review 22954
By R C Shaw-Edwards
Background
Gas turbine is a complex device with many components subjected to high stress at temperatures that are close to the melting point of some of the materials used in its construction. It is also a corrosive environment, with the high temperatures assisting oxidation, and the impurities frequently found in fuel, resulting in potential chemical attack.
Superalloys have been developed over the last 50 or so years to produce materials with a very carefully controlled composition and microstructure, in order to provide the demanding combination of thermal and mechanical properties necessary for the efficient operation of gas turbines.