Design of new creep-resistant nickel-base superalloys for power-plant applications

A Gaussian processes computer program has been used to model the mechanical properties of polycrystalline nickel-base superalloys as a function of their chemical composition and heat treatment. The models are able to reproduce well-known metallurgical trends, and to estimate the behaviour of new alloys. On this basis, several new creep-resistant alloys for power plant applications have been proposed The candidate alloys have been scrutinised further using phase diagram calculations to reveal their equilibrium phase constitutions. This design process has led to a shortlist of alloys on the basis of their expected properties, microstructural stability and cost.