Alloys-by-Design: Optimisation of Compositions of Nickel-Based Superalloys
Roger C. Reed, Daniel Barba and Enrique Alabort
University of Oxford, Departments of Materials and Engineering Science, UK

Ni-based superalloys are a class of materials widely used in the aerospace sector due to their outstanding properties at extreme temperatures. The creep deformation behaviour of the Ni-based superalloys controls the service life of most turbine components in modern aeroengines. Multiscale modelling methods have the potential to improve engineering design and to further the physical undersanding of the mechanical behaviour which these alloys face in service. In our reseach group, we couple state-of-the-art physical models with novel characterisation techniques at the crucial length scales which measure and validate the critical phenomena which limits the use of ni-superalloys. The ultimate aim is to use the improved understanding to propose, via smart computational design, alloys which perform better than those used traditionally – we call it the Alloy-by-Design method.