Computationally Guided ODS Refractory HEAs via Additive Manufacturing

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Program:
ULTIMATE
Award:
$1,199,882
Location:
East Hartford, Connecticut
Status:
ALUMNI
Project Term:
04/15/2021 - 07/14/2023
Website:

Technology Description:

Raytheon Technologies Research Center (RTRC) aims to design and validate the manufacturability and mechanical properties of a new hot section turbine alloy. To achieve higher efficiency turbine operation, RTRC will use additive manufacturing (AM) to produce test coupons (specimens) and potentially a representative turbine blade using a high entropy alloy (HEA) enhanced with oxide dispersion strengthening (ODS) particles. Combining HEAs with ODS imparts high-temperature strength and creep (deformation) resistance to enable 1300°C operation that significantly exceeds the capability of current single crystal nickel superalloys. Leveraging AM produces a blade very close to the final shape, reducing the need for machining, and incorporates ODS into the alloy. The program will employ a machine learning framework and screening experiments to explore HEA composition space and identify the best candidates. Powders will be produced for these candidates and then modified with nano-oxides to create an ODS feedstock for AM. Deploying this class of alloys for 1300°C turbine operation will allow airlines to save millions of gallons of fuel per year.

Potential Impact:

Combining development of new ultrahigh temperature materials with compatible coatings and manufacturing technologies has the potential to increase gas turbine efficiency up to 7%, which will significantly reduce wasted energy and carbon emissions.

Security:

Coal-fired and nuclear-powered plant electricity generation is uneconomical, unsafe, outdated, and/or contributes to significant CO2 emissions. Increasing gas turbine efficiency is critical to ensuring that plants can effectively deploy their capacity to the grid, increasing energy security.

Environment:

Improving gas turbine efficiency can significantly reduce carbon emissions from air travel, which represents 2% of all global carbon emissions.

Economy:

By 2050, a 7% efficiency improvement in the natural gas turbines used for U.S. electricity generation could save up to 15-16 quads of energy; in civilian aircraft turbines, 3-4 quads of energy could be saved for U.S. air travel.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Philseok Kim
Project Contact:
Dr. John Sharon
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
john.sharon@rtx.com

Partners

National Energy Technology Laboratory

Related Projects

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• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Additive Manufacturing of Oxidation-Resistant Gradient Refractory Composites
• National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) - Rapid Design and Manufacturing of High-Performance Materials for Turbine Blades Applications above 1300°Celsius
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) - Development of Niobium-Based Alloys for Turbine Applications
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) - Facility for Evaluating High Temperature Oxidation and Mechanical Properties
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) - Selective Thermal Emission Coatings for Improved Turbine Performance
• Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) - Design and Manufacturing of Ultrahigh Temperature Refractory Alloys
• QuesTek Innovations - Concurrent Design of a Multimaterial Niobium Alloy System for Next-generation Turbine Applications
• Raytheon Technologies Research Center - Computationally Guided ODS Refractory HEAs via Additive Manufacturing
• Raytheon Technologies Research Center - Environmental Protection Coating System for Refractory Metal Alloys (EPCS for RMAs)
• Texas A&M University - Phase II: Batch-wise Improvement in Reduced Design Space using a Holistic Optimization Technique (BIRDSHOT)
• Texas A&M University - Batch-wise Improvement in Reduced Design Space using a Holistic Optimization Technique (BIRDSHOT)
• The Boeing Company - Ultra-High Performance Metallic Turbine Blades for Extreme Environments
• The Boeing Company - Phase II: Ultra-High Performance Metallic Turbine Blades for Extreme Environments
• University of Maryland (UMD) - Phase II: New Environmental-Thermal Barrier Coatings for Ultrahigh Temperature Alloys
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• University of Utah - Designing Novel Multicomponent Niobium Alloys for High Temperature: Integrated Design, Rapid Processing & Validation Approach
• University of Virginia (UVA) - High Entropy Rare-earth Oxide (HERO) Coatings for Refractory Alloys
• University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) - Additive Manufacturing of Ultrahigh Temperature Refractory Metal Alloys
• University of Wisconsin–Madison - Phase II: Additive Manufacturing of Ultrahigh Temperature Refractory Metal Alloys
• West Virginia University - High-Throughput Computational Guided Development of Refractory Complex Concentrated Alloys-based Composite

Release Date:
04/21/2020