ORNL's alumina-forming austenitic alloy licensed to Carpenter Technology Corp.

Metal alloy manufacturer Carpenter Technology Corp. has licensed an alumina-forming austenitic stainless steel alloy developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The new alloy, developed at ORNL by Phil Maziasz, Bruce Pint, Michael Brady, Zhaoping Lu, Chain T. Liu and Yukinori Yamamoto, is unique in that the composition allows for alumina scales to form on the exterior of the steel, providing significant oxidation resistance.

The alloy displays excellent creep strength at high temperatures (700-800 Celsius). While some of these characteristics may be found in existing alloys, this new alloy can be produced at a lower price than other existing alloys, which require high amounts of nickel.

"Any application in which high temperatures or corrosive environments are encountered could be a potential application of this technology," said Tim Armstrong, Carpenter Technology vice president for research and development.

Potential applications include recuperators and heat exchangers, down-hole drilling and chemical processing equipment and materials.

The agreement with Carpenter allows for the sale of the alloy in a variety of bulk forms that have been vacuum melted.

Provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory