4 ms·
Besides space and ~~efficient killing/murdering~~ military industries, where would this “superalloy-like” strength be useful in? Nuclear plants? Maybe useful
by xyst 1y ago
Besides space and ~~efficient killing/murdering~~ military industries, where would this “superalloy-like” strength be useful in?
Nuclear plants?
Maybe useful in supercomputing/quantum computing?
- topspin 1y agoIt's difficult to predict. High performance heat exchangers are an obvious application, but the potential is great for many other things. "Nuclear plants?" Sure. One of the most challenging problems in a PWRs is heat exchange; the so called "steam generators" that circulate primary and secondary water, for instance. They're huge, expensive heat exchangers and their primary failure mode is cracking. A durable, high temperature, high thermal conductivity copper based alloy goes directly to this. Better thermal conductivity could make these devices substantially smaller, reducing costs in all sorts of way, or enable novel designs.
- kragen 1y agoIt still might be prone to fatigue cracks.
- topspin 1y agoYep. Cracking is a subtle process. This new material and the new designs based on it will be either better or worse than the nickel alloys that have been used, but only time will tell. At least an opportunity exists for improvement now.
- Beretta_Vexee 1y agoPressurised water reactors use Inconel tubes. Inconel 600 alloys are high-chromium nickel alloys for steam exchange tubes that are highly resistant to various forms of corrosion (capable of withstanding to 30 years in water with boric acid and 300°C+). The design of these alloys and exchangers is extremely complex and benefits from several thousand years of operational experience. This applies to the alloys themselves, their heat treatment, shaping, interaction with other materials, ageing, etc. It is highly unlikely that these alloys will be abandoned in the next 20-30 years.
- fpoling 1y agoEfficient and less polluting coal plants. To approach 50% or more efficiency when converting the thermal energy of coal to electricity the temperature must exceed 700C, but that brings all kind of problems as it presently requires exotic alloys.
- nine_k 1y agoCoal is problematic due to ash and sulfur. Natural gas-fired plants, OTOH, are not going anywhere for next few decades. And even if they go, and get replaced with nuclear or even fusion, the steam generation step does not go way anyway.
- fpoling 1y agoCoal is cheaper than natural gas and much more evenly distributed on Earth so even small countries can secure supply either from own territory or at least from many other countries. And rising efficiency of a coal plant directly reduces emissions. Then presently coal plants are less flexible with throttling with their output compared with natural gas. The new alloy may level the field and make coal plants to fit better with renewables.
- pfdietz 1y agoThe recuperator in Allam Cycle CO2 turbines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allam_power_cycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allam_power_cycle