A. Mitchell Advanced Materials Research Laboratory
,
University of British Columbia
,
Vancouver BC
,
Canada
金属学报(英文版)
In the pastfew years,severalnew melting processeshavebeenindustrialised forthe produc tion ofsuperalloys,titanium alloysand high qualitysteelsfor useintheaero engineindustry.Theseincludeelectron beam , plasma,inductionskull,andthe”triple melt”process( VIM + ESR+ VAR) . These developments have allbeen instituted in responsetothe major per ceived problem oftheindustry ;that oftheincidence of random defectsin the alloys whichcause problemsinregardto predictablelifing ofthefinished partinservice. Thedirectconse quenceofthe uncertaintyislossof revenue due to premature retirement of parts which mayhavecompleted on a fraction oftheir actualservicelife; a conservatism on the partof design parameters whichleadsto uneccesary weightin thepart;and ariskofeitherservicefailuresor partrecalls whichinterruptengine performance. Thebenefitsoftheprocesschangesinrespectoftheproducts’absolute propertiesand alsoonthereproducibility and inspectability ofthose properties have been substantial. Itisclearthattheprocesses offer the industry a solution to the present dilem ma of how to treatthe ”rare”defectsfrom the pointof view of fracture mechanicslifing methodology. The use ofprocesscontrols which guarantee”zero defect”productisdevelopingintoacriticaltoolfortheextension oftherangeof a given alloy’s use. Itislikelyto permit very substantial gainsinboth componentlife and intheallowablestressin rotating parts withoutthe needtointroduce new materials carrying new problems of user confidence, production reliability and data base. Weconcludethatthenew processesareatastageof development wherethey arereadyforwideindustry usein production. They will not add significantly tothecomponentcost andthey willgive a renwed lifespan to the more familiar materials and methodsof aero engineconstruction.
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