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Materials science

Not so creepy under stress

Nature volume 537, pages 315–316 (2016)Cite this article

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Nanocrystalline alloys have excellent low-temperature mechanical strength but poor high-temperature resistance to creep — deformation due to continuous stress. An alloy has been made that overcomes this problem. See Letter p.378

Metallic materials that have high-temperature applications in gas turbines require a combination of excellent mechanical strength and resistance to creep — deformation resulting from long-term applied stress. Nowadays, nickel-based 'superalloys' are key materials in the hottest sections of gas turbines, largely on account of their exceptional creep resistance at temperatures of up to 1,100 °C (almost 90% of their melting temperature)1. The use of these superalloys has led to a spectacular decrease in the fuel consumption of gas turbines over the past 40 years, reducing their environmental impact2. Searching for new lightweight metallic materials of even greater high-temperature capability than the superalloys is one of the biggest challenges the aerospace industry faces in reducing its contribution to global warming3. On page 378, Darling et al.4 report the development of a nanocrystalline alloy that combines impressive mechanical strength with high-temperature creep resistance.

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Figure 1: A creep-resistant nanocrystalline alloy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jonathan Cormier is at École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et d'Aérotechnique, Institut Pprime, UPR CNRS 3346, 86961 Futuroscope-Chasseneuil, France.,

    Jonathan Cormier

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  1. Jonathan Cormier
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Correspondence to Jonathan Cormier.

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Cormier, J. Not so creepy under stress. Nature 537, 315–316 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/537315a

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