Materials for extreme conditions

Gamma titanium aluminides: seeing metals live!

Gamma titanium aluminides (g-TiAl) are intermetallic alloys with great potential for aerospace applications in low pressure turbines (LPT) because they can provide increased thrust-to-weight ratios and improved efficiency under aggressive environments at temperatures up to 750 °C. As such, these materials are projected to replace the heavier Ni-base superalloys currently used for LPT blade manufacturing.

We are investigating the deformation and fatigue mechanisms of third generation g-TiAl alloys by ex-situ and in-situ testing inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The movie below shows crack propagation during a micromechanical test of a Ti-45Al-2Nb-2Mn(at.%)+0.8(vol.%)TiB₂ (Ti4522XD) at service temperatures (750°C) in real time!.

More details about our research in this area can be found @ Muñoz-Moreno et al. Materials Science and Engineering, 2014 and A.J. Palomares-García et al. Acta Materialia, 2017.

This work is being carried out in collaboration with ITP (Industria de Turbopropulsores), and it is funded by projects ALTIVA (MAT2009-14547-C02-01), HOTNANOMEC (MAT2012-31889), and CRACKTIAL (MAT2016-77189-R), awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. We acknowledge funding from the Madrid region under programme S2013/MIT-2775 (DIMMAT).