• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.178-185
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• 2014

Alloy 617 is considered as a candidate Ni-based superalloy for the intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) of a very high-temperature gas reactor (VHTR) because of its good creep strength and corrosion resistance at high temperatures. Helium is used as a coolant in a VHTR owing to its high thermal conductivity, inertness, and low neutron absorption. However, helium inevitably includes impurities that create an imbalance in the surface reactivity at the interface of the coolant and the exposed materials. As the Alloy 617 has been exposed to high temperatures at $950^{\circ}C$ in the impure helium environment of a VHTR, the degradation of material is accelerated and mechanical properties decreased. The high-temperature strength, creep, and corrosion properties of the structural material for an IHX are highly important to maintain the integrity in a harsh environment for a 60 year period. Therefore, an alloy superior to alloy 617 should be developed. In this study, the mechanical and high-temperature corrosion properties for Ni-Cr alloys fabricated in the laboratory were evaluated as a function of the grain boundary strengthening and alloying elements. The ductility increased and decreased by increasing the amount of Mo and Cr, respectively. Surface oxide was detached during the corrosion test, when Al was not added to alloy. However the alloy with Al showed improved oxide adhesive property without significant degradation and mechanical property. Aluminum seems to act as an anti-corrosive role in the Ni-based alloy.

• Proceedings of the Korea Institute of Applied Superconductivity and Cryogenics Conference
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• 2002.02a
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• pp.339-339
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• 2002

In the RABiTS approach to coated conductor development, successful (both economic and technological) depends on the refinement and optimization of each of three important components: the metal tape substrate, the buffer layer(s), and the HTS layer. Here we will report on the ORNL approach and progress in each of these areas. - Most applications will require metal tapes with low magnetic hysteresis, mechanical strength, and excellent crystalline texture. Some of these requirements are competing. We report on progress in obtaining a good combination of these characteristics on metal alloys of Ni-Cr and Ni-W. - The deposition of appropriate buffer layers is a crucial step. Recently, base research has shown that the presence of a stable sulfur superstructure present on the metal surface is needed for the nucleation and epitaxial growth of vapor-deposited seed buffer layers such as YSZ, CeO$_2$ and SrTiO$_3$. We report on the details and control of this superstructure for nickel tapes, as well as recent results for Cu and Ni-13%Cr. - Processes for deposition of the HTS coating must economically provide large values of the figure-of-merit for conductors, current x length. At ORNL, we have devoted efforts to a precursor/post-annealing approach to YBCO coatings, for which the deposition and reaction steps are separate. We describe motivation for and progress toward developing this approach. - Finally, we address some issues for the implementation of coated conductors in real applications, including the need for texture control and electrical stabilization of the HTS coating.