Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/L05433/01
Title:	EFFECTS OF PROCESS CONDITIONS ON MICROSTRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE OF DIRECTIONALLY SOLIDIFIED SUPERALLOYS
Principal Investigator:	Shollock, Professor B
Other Investigators:	McLean, Dr M
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	European Gas Turbines Ltd
Department:	Materials
Organisation:	Imperial College London
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	02 December 1996	Ends:	01 September 2000	Value (£):	193,305
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Materials Processing
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Manufacturing
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Nickel-base superalloys are used for turbine blades in both aerospace and land-based applications. Most recent documents have been associated with a combination of novel alloy compositions and new processing technologies but have largely been confined to the aerospace sector where casting sizes are small. There is, however, a growing interest in the production of large castings for gas turbines for electricity generation. The establishment of appropriate properties through optimum microstructures is vital to successful exploitation of advanced superalloys for these new applications. The solidification process, however, is very sensitive to the scale of casting and consequently, the density and type of casting defects varies. This is likely to be a critical factor in extending directional and single Crystal processing to wider applications. The primary aim of the programme is to examine the effects of well-controlled directional solidification conditions on the details of the microstructures. It is intended to relate mechanical performance to differing microstructures, providing design engineers with appropriate information on material performance and process engineers with a basis for controlling casting quality. The combination of controlled directional solidification and detailed crystallographic characterisation will provide the most comprehensive information on the correlation of solidification conditions with microstructure yet achieved.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.imperial.ac.uk