Intermetallics 4 (1996) 351-315

Published by Elsevier Science Limited

Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0966-9795(95)00056-9 0966s9795196/$15.00
ELSEVIER

Nickel and iron aluminides: an overview on

properties, processing, and applications
S. C. Deevi* & V. K. Sikka
Metals and Ceramics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA

(Received 19 October 1995; accepted 8 November 1995)

Intermetallics have long been recognized as potential candidates for a variety of

high-temperature structural applications to operate well beyond the operating
temperatures of conventional materials due to their excellent oxidation and cor-
rosion resistances. In this paper, we compare and contrast the mechanical properties
such as yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and tensile elongations of
Ni,Al-based alloys, Fe,Al-based alloys, and FeAl alloys with several of the com-
mercially available superalloys such as Haynes 214 (NiCrAlY), MA-956 (yttria-
dispersed FeCrAlY), and a FeNiCr alloy (HU steel) used in carburizing
applications. Our comparisons clearly show that cast and wrought N&Al-based
alloys exhibit superior mechanical properties over the commercially available
alloys such as the FeNiCr HU steel and Haynes 214. Electrical resistivity of iron
aluminides increases with the increase of aluminum content, and the electrical
resistivities of Fe,Al- and FeAl-based alloys are 50-100% higher than those of
commercially available heating-element materials. Processing problems associated
with the melting and casting of intermetallics are discussed in light of their
large, negative heats of formation; high-aluminum content of intermetallics; and
the safe operating temperatures of crucible materials for melting them. A fumace-
loading sequence enabled us to properly utilize the heat of reaction of inter-
metallics resulting in the development of the Exo-MeltTM process for melting
and casting of intermetallics for a variety of structural applications. The Exo-
MeltTM process allowed us to cast a wide variety of structural intermetallic parts
using sand, centrifugal, and investment casting techniques, and a total of 15 000
kg of intermetallic parts were cast by the Exo-MeltTM process during 1995.
Copyright 0 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd

Key words: A. nickel aluminides, based on Ni,Al, iron aluminides (based on

Fe,Al), iron aluminides (based on FeAl). C. casting, G. automotive uses, corro-
sion and erosion resistant applications,

1 INTRODUCTION wt% and is significantly higher than the aluminum

concentrations present in conventional alloys and
During the last several decades, ordered inter- superalloys. In the case of nickel and iron alu-
metallics, based on aluminides of transition metals minides, the alumina layer formed on the surface
such as nickel, iron, titanium, niobium, and of the materials is responsible for their excellent
cobalt, have been under investigation for their oxidation and carburization resistances even at
possible use as high-temperature structural materi- temperatures as high as 1000C or higher. There-
als. I4 Aluminides of transition metals possess fore, aluminides, unlike conventional steels and
sufficiently high concentrations of aluminum (see superalloys based on nickel, iron, and cobalt, do
Table 1) to form a continuous, fully adherent alu- not necessarily require chromium to form an oxide
mina layer on the surface when exposed to air or layer on the surface of the material to protect
oxygen atmospheres. The amount of aluminum against high-temperature oxidation and corrosion.
present in aluminides can range from 10 to 30 Alumina is much more thermodynamically stable
at high temperatures than Cr,O,. Interestingly, the
*Dr S. C. Deevi is on sabbatical at the Oak Ridge National chemistry of aluminides is much simpler than
Laboratory from Philip Morris USA under the Philip Morris
superalloys; subsequently, they form long-range-
Fellowship Program. His permanent address is: Research and
Development Center, Philip Morris, USA, Richmond, Virginia ordered crystal structures. Apart from their oxidation
23234, USA. and carburization resistances, aluminides possess
357
358 S. C. Deevi, V. K. Sikka

Table 1. Weight percentages of aluminum, heats of formation, and melting points of intermetallics

Weight percent (wt%) Heat of formation Melting point

Intermetallic of aluminum A~~,ps(kcal/mol) (C)

N&Al 13.28 -66.6 f 1.2 1395

NiAl 31.49 -28.3 + 1.2 1639
N&Al, 40.81 -67.5 f 4.0 1133
NiAI, 57.96 -36.0 f 2.0 854

Fe,AI 13.87 -16.0 1502

FeAl 32.57 -12.0 1215
FeAl, 49.1 -18.9 1164
Fe,Al, 54.70 -34.3 1171

From selected values of the Thermodynamic Properties of Binary Alloys, eds R. Hultgren, P. D. Desai, D. T. Hawkins, M.
Gleiser & K. K. Kelley, American Society of Metals, Materials Park, Ohio, 1973; and 0. Kubachewski and C. B. Alcock, Metal-
lurgical Thermochemistry, Student Edition, Pergamon Press, New York, 1979.

lower densities, high-melting points, and exhibit SO2 gases is much better than that of any
interesting mechanical properties due to their other iron- or nickel-based alloys.
ordered crystal structures. The strength of some (3) They have a high electrical resistivity which
intermetallics increases with temperature instead of increases with temperature.
exhibiting a decrease; thus, they are ideally suited (4) They have good corrosion resistance in many
for high-temperature applications. Advantages of aqueous environments.
intermetallics based on N&Al, Fe,Al, and FeAl
are given below. In spite of the above attractive features, low
The major advantages that can be derived from ductility, brittle fracture, and processing problems
the use of nickel aluminides (N&Al) include: have hampered the commercial utilization of these
intermetallics for several decades. Several reviews,
(1) Resistance to oxidation and carburization in
symposium proceedings, and books describe the
both oxidizing and reducing carburizing atmos-
recent advances in alloy design, processing, and
pheres up to 1100C.
mechanical properties of intermetallics.-6 Excellent
(2) Good tensile and compressive yield strengths accounts of historical perspectives on the develop-
at 650-l lOOC, as opposed to many nickel-
ment of intermetallics are provided by Cahn7 and
based superalloys.
Westbrook. In this article, we primarily focus on
(3) Fatigue resistance superior to that of nickel- the mechanical properties, processing, and appli-
based superalloys, resulting from the elimi-
cations of nickel and iron aluminides developed at
nation of second-phase particles such as
the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) over
carbides.
a period of a decade or longer.
(4) Superior creep strength, which is highly grain-
size dependent. For the best creep resistance,
coarse grain size is required; thus, castings
2 N&Al-BASED ALLOYS
need to be considered.
(5) Excellent wear resistance at high temperatures A concerted effort by several researchers to enhance
(2 600C). In fact, wear resistance increases
the ductility and alter the mode of fracture from
with temperature (similar to yield strength). The
brittle intergranular to ductile transgranular led to
increase can be as much as a factor of 1000.
the understanding that moisture-induced hydrogen
(6) The formation of Al,O, on the surface by
embrittlement is primarily responsible for low
preoxidation provides good chemical com-
ductility and brittle fracture. Alloying of aluminides
patibility for many environments.
was considered to alleviate the above issues, and a
The major advantages that can be derived from breakthrough occurred when N&AI was micro-
the use of iron aluminides include: alloyed with boron by Aoki and Izumi in Japan.
Subsequent intense studies of boron and alloy
(1) Their density is lower than that of many stoichiometric effects by Liu and his co-workers@2
stainless steels and, therefore, they offer better at ORNL has shown that 40-50% tensile ductility
strength-to-weight ratio. can be achieved in N&Al with as little boron as
(2) Their resistance to sulfidation in H,S and 0.04 wt%. Interestingly, the addition of 0.5 at% B
 Nickel and iron aluminides: an overview 359

resulted in a room-temperature tensile ductility of
50% at 24.0 at% Al, and the ductility dropped sig-
nificantly to about 5% when the aluminum content
was increased to 25 at% or higher. Although several
other elements, such as rhenium, zirconium, and
hafnium, were observed to enhance the room-tem-
perature ductility of Ni,A1,0~2none were as effec-
tive as boron. Even though the role of alloying
elements in enhancing the room-temperature duc-
tility is not clearly understood, the addition of boron
even in small quantities is believed toincrease the
cohesive energy of the grain boundaries along with
suppression of environmental embrittlement.3~5
Recent observations by Deng et all6 suggest that
the boron doping is beneficial because of the
strengthening of bonding cohesion in grain boun-
daries and suppression of hydrogen embrittlement.
Their observations were based on results obtained by
the positron annihilation technique, which is sensi-
tive to defects and their interaction with hydrogen.
Improved ductility and transgranular fracture of
boron-doped Ni,Al allowed design of several Ni,Al-
based alloys of compositions shown in Table 2 for
high-temperature applications.3,17 It is interesting
to note that the compositions of most of the alloys
contain several different elements other than nickel,
aluminum, and boron, The addition of alloying
elements such as zirconium and chromium were
found to be necessary to reduce solidification
shrinkage, increase high-temperature strength and
ductility, adhere the oxide film on oxidation, and
confer the hot-corrosion resistance to the Ni,Al
phase. An extensive evaluation of the mechanical
properties of cast and wrought alloys was carried
out at ORNL to determine their suitability for
commercial applications. Commercial use of Ni,Al-
based alloys for high-temperature applications will
be based on their overall superior mechanical, ther-
mal, and physical properties over the existing
materials, and the actual use of Ni,Al-based alloys
in commercial applications will be a replacement of
existing materials with N&Al-based alloys. Since
industries generally operate by replacing existing
materials with advanced materials, a comparison of
mechanical properties of cast, wrought, and powder
metallurgically processed alloys is of interest for
engineering applications. Mechanical properties of
the alloys developed at ORNL were used for com-
parison with the commercially available materials.
To illustrate the strength advantages of IC-221M
and IC-396 Ni,Al-based alloys over a commer-
cially available FeNiCr alloy (known as HU) for
high-temperature furnace applications,* yield and
ultimate tensile strengths of IC-221M, IC-396, and
HU are plotted against temperature as shown in
Figs l(a) and (b). The yield strengths of IC-221M
and IC-396 alloys are at least twice that of HU at
room temperature and increase with rising tem-
perature as shown in Fig. l(a). The strength of
HU decreases with rising temperature while the
strength of IC-221 M and IC-396 N&Al-based
alloys at 800C is over 200% higher than that of
HU, which is commonly used in a variety of manu-
facturing operations as heat-treating trays. The
strength advantage of cast Ni,Al-based IC-221M
and IC-396 alloys can be seen even at a temperature
of 1100C. The ultimate tensile strengths of Ni,Al-
based IC-221M and IC-396 alloys are significantly

Table 2. Compositions of N&Al-based alloys selected for commercial applications and compositions of some commercial alloys

Element Alloy (wt%)

IC-221M IC-396 HU IC-50 IC-2 18LZr IC-221w Haynes 214 Alloy 8Od

AI 8.0 7.98 11.3 8.7 8.00 4.5 0.4

Cr 7.7 7.72 18.0 8.1 7.70 16.0 21.0
MO 1.43 3.02 1.50
Zr 1.7 0.85 0.6 0.2 3.00 -
B 0.008 0.005 0.02 0.02 0.003 -
C 0.55 - 0.03 0.05
Fe 42.45 3.0 45.5
Ti - 0.4
Ni 81.1 80.42 39.0 88.08 83.1 79.80 76.35 32.5
Si 0.1
Y - 0.02

Castable alloy for dynamic applications (minimum microporosity).

Castable alloy for static applications (some microporosity).
Cast alloy.
Cold workable.
Hot and cold workable.
Wrought alloy.
 360 S. C. Deevi, V. K. Sikka

loy sold as Haynes 21419 by Haynes International,

Inc. (Kokomo, Indiana) is compared with the tensile
- IC-396
properties of wrought N&Al-based alloys up to
1100C (see Fig. 2). Yield strengths of Ni,Al-
based IC-50 and IC-218LZr match the yield
strength of Haynes 214. On the other hand, powder-
metallurgically processed IC-221 W exhibits a
significantly higher strength than those of wrought
alloys, even at 700C (see Fig. 2(a)). Ultimate tensile
strengths of N&Al-based alloys are significantly
1000 1200
higher at room temperature as in the case of cast
Temperature (C)
alloys, and the strength advantage of Ni,Al-based
(4 alloys over Haynes 214 is lost at or above 850C
g. 1250
I 1500

E + Haynes-214
I 1250 - IC-so
-)- ICI-2 1BLZr
+ K-221 W (PM)
5 1000
P
ize 750

3e 500

ifi 250

.=
ii 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 d 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Temperature (C)
Temperature (C)
(b)

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

1000 1200
Temperature (C)
Temperature (C)
cc)
(b)
Fig. 1. A comparison of (a) yield strengths, (b) ultimate tensile
strengths, and (c) tensile elongations of cast N&Al-based
alloys with HU alloy.

higher than the yield strengths shown in Fig. 1 (b),

and the ultimate tensile strengths of N&Al-based
IC-221M and IC-396 alloys are higher than the
strength exhibited by the HU alloy. Tensile elon-
gations of N&Al-based IC-221M and IC-396 alloys
shown in Fig. l(c) indicate excellent room-temper-
ature tensile ductility exceeding that of HU. The 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
excellent oxidation resistance and the superior me- Temperature (C)
chanical properties of Ni,Al-based alloys suggest
(c)
that IC-221 M or IC-396 can replace the FeNiCr
Fig. 2. A comparison of (a) yield strengths, (b) ultimate tensile
(HU) alloy for furnace applications. strengths, and (c) tensile elongations of wrought Ni,Al-based
A commercially available nickel-based superal- alloys with Haynes 214.
 Nickel and iron aluminides: an overview 361

(see Fig. 2(b)). During the intermediate temperatures
(i.e. 4008OOC), IC-50 alloy with a simple compo-
sition consisting of nickel, 11.3 wt% Al, 0.2 wt%
B, and 0.6 wt% Zr is weaker than Haynes 214,
and its ultimate tensile strength drops almost linearly
with temperature. In contrast, IC-221 W processed
by powder metallurgy exhibits significantly higher
strength than Haynes 214 and other N&Al-based
alloys and retains its room-temperature strength
until 650C. The strength drops above 650C and
the strength of powder-metallurgically processed
IC-22 1W is similar to the other alloys at or above
850C (see Fig. 2(b)). Tensile elongations of 40%
or higher suggest that room-temperature process-
ing of Ni,Al-based wrought alloys can be carried
out similarly to Haynes 214 (see Fig. 2(c)). As
expected, the tensile elongation of powder-metal-
lurgically processed IC-22 1W is much lower than
that of wrought alloys at room temperature, and
the strength remains constant over a wide temper-
ature range. Low ductility of powder-metallurgically
processed IC-221W requires a temperature of 950C
for thermomechanical processing. It is important
to note that the composition of IC-50 is much
simpler and is close to the composition of Ni,Al
intermetallic. Our results also indicate that the
fatigue properties of IC-221 M are superior by an
order of magnitude to the commercially available
IN-713C (sold by Into Alloys in Huntington, West
Virginia)* when tested in air at 650C.
In the operating temperature range of 800-
lOOOC,creep resistance of cast and wrought alloys
is of importance since creep is the primary defor-
mation mechanism at high temperatures. Creep data
of cast alloys are compared with HU in Fig. 3(a)
while the creep data of wrought alloys are compared
with Haynes 214 in Fig. 3(b). The Larsen-Miller
plots shown in Fig. 3(a) indicate the superior creep
strength of IC-221M by a factor of 2-4 even at
high temperatures. The creep strengths of wrought
alloys are also significantly better than the creep
strength of Haynes 214. The high-aluminum content
of nickel aluminides allows the formation of pro-
tective alumina layer against oxidation and car-
burization at high temperatures. The oxidation
resistances of nickel aluminides in air with 5%
water vapor at 1100C are far superior to that of
Alloy 800 with no significant weight change even
after 250 d exposure (see Fig. 4(a)). On the other
50

loo0
i_;-;, E
4

z
OL 0

_ -50 :..-.. .
d
+ K-50
--f K-21 8
- K-22 1

..;. .. . .._
Air-S% Water Vapor at 1100C

-200 8 I.......1 .I ..
IO a. ... ... a.. .a. 0 100 200 300
30 35 40 45 50 55 60 Exposure Time (Days)
P=(T+460)*(20+logtr)*1 O-3 (a)
(a)
Hz-5.5% CO, at 1000C
000

100 ~ ,c_50
-t-K-21 8
- K-22 1

IO

10 20 30
1 1 Exposure Time (Days)
35 40 45 50 55
(W
P=(T+460)*(20+logtr)*1 O-

(b) Fig. 4. A comparison of (a) oxidation resistance (in air with

5% water vapor at 1lOOC) and (b) carburization resistance
Fig. 3. A comparison of creep resistances of (a) cast N&Al- (in H,-5.5% CO,) of N&Al-based alloys with commercially
based alloys with commercial HU alloy and (b) wrought available Alloy 800. (Data were developed at The Interna-
N&Al-based alloys with Haynes 214. tional Nickel Company, New York).
362 S. C, Deevi, V. K. Sikka

hand, Alloy 800 consisting of 21 wt% Cr and only
0.4 wt% Al lost over 150 mg/cm2 within 40 d
exposure in air with 5% water vapor at 1100C.
Nickel aluminides also exhibit excellent carburiza-
tion resistance as compared to Alloy 800 when
tested in a carburizing atmosphere consisting of
hydrogen with 5.5% CO, at 1000C (see Fig. 4(b)).
While nickel aluminides were resistant to carburiza-
tion attack, Alloy 800 exhibited a significant
weight gain because of carburization of the material.
It is interesting to note that IC-50 with a higher
aluminum content was much more resistant to
carburization than IC-221 M and IC-218.
Gas-atomized powder of IC-50 was also used to
obtain composites of WC-N&Al for use as tool bits.
In this particular application, ORNL researchers2
exploited the unique properties of Ni,Al to replace
cobalt as a binder phase in the tungsten-carbide-
cobalt tool bits. Figure 5 shows the flexural
strengths of several composites of WC-Ni,Al at
room temperature and at 800C. The strength of
the Ni,Al composites changes very little up to
800C and the strength of WC-17 ~01% Ni,Al is
q 25C
1 m
2400 k In the case of Fe,Al, a DO, structure is stable in
E
3
800 1 ordered solid solution, (Y. On the other hand,
_L
indeed higher due to the increase of yield strength
of N&Al intermetallic with temperature. On the
other hand, the yield strength of cobalt decreases
with temperature, and therefore, the flexural strength
of WC-17 ~01% Co exhibited a significant decrease
at 800C. Flexural strengths, fracture toughnesses,
and hardnesses of tungsten-carbide and titanium-
carbide composites with IC-50 binder are shown in
Table 3. Composites of tungsten-carbide and tita-
nium-carbide with IC-50 as a binder phase pro-
vide the required toughness and strength with the
added advantage of corrosion resistance.
3 Fe,Al- AND FeAl-BASED ALLOYS
Iron aluminides were recognized to possess excellent
oxidation and sulfidation resistance even during
the early 1930s but the lack of room-temperature
ductility, low high-temperature strength, and inad-
equate high-temperature creep resistance left them
unexploited for commercial applications.22m26 Iron
aluminides of interest are Fe,Al and FeAl with
ordered body-centered-cubic structures correspond-
ing to DO3 and B2 crystal structures, respectively.
800C
the 23-36 at% Al range and from room temperature
to 550C. Above 550C an ordered Fe,AI with
DO3 structure transforms to an imperfectly ordered
B2 structure, which ultimately changes to a dis-
FeAl exists with B2 structure and is stable from
about 36-48 at% Al, and the transition from B2

I , IVI~AI 17co 68 Ni3AI 80 Ni3AI 95 Ni3AI to (Yoccurs well above 1100C

During the last decade, efforts were focused to
Fig. 5. Elevated-temperature flexural strength for tungsten-
enhance room-temperature ductility, high-temper-
carbide composites containing various N&Al contents, (courtesy
of T. N. Tiegs, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, ature strength, and high-temperature creep resistance
Tennessee). by alloying of iron aluminides. Two approaches,
namely, solid-solution strengthening and precipita-
Table 3. Mechanical properties of WC and TiC composites tion strengthening, were considered for strengthening
with varying N&AI contents (IC-50) of iron aluminides. Elements such as Nb, Cu, Ta,
Zr, B, and C were considered for precipitation
Sample Ceramic Fracture Flexural Hardness
no. phase toughness strength (GPa) strengthening; Cr, Ti, Mn, Si, MO, V, and Ni were
content (MPa Jm) (MPa) added for solid-solution strengthening. In general,
(vol?,) the addition of elements either for precipitation
IBC-56 32% WC 25.7 1751 7.0 strengthening or solid-solution strengthening to
IBC-57 20% WC 18.5 1092 4.6 improve high-temperature tensile strength and
IBC-58 5% WC 18.4 1123 4.0 creep resistance resulted in low room-temperature
IBC-59 60%TiC 2.1 131 9.9
IBC-60 43%TiC 3.2 95 6.0
tensile elongations. 27 In some cases, solid-solution
IBC-6 1 14%TiC 14.1 782 4.2 strengthening also increased the DO,-B2 transi-
IBC-62 0 b b 2.3 tion temperature. The addition of molybdenum
when added along with zirconium resulted in
P. Chantikul, G. R. Anstis, B. R. Lawn & D. B. Marshall, J.
Am. Ceram. Sot., 64(9) 53943. improved tensile and creep strengths, and only
Specimens bent during flexural test. chromium was observed to increase the room-
 Nickel and iron aluminides: an overview 363

temperature ductility of Fe,Al. The addition of 2 strengths up to 600C as compared to the MA-956
at% Cr to Fe,Al resulted in some intergranular superalloy. The strengths are similar at 600C and
fracture along with transgranular fracture. Poor are very low at 800C for their use as structural
ductility of iron aluminides, Fe,Al, and FeAl is materials. Tensile elongations of wrought Fe,Al
attributed to the environmental embrittlement due alloys increase with temperature while the temper-
to the interaction of aluminum with water vapor ature has a minimal effect on the tensile elonga-
present in the atmosphere as shown below:28 tion of MA-956 (see Fig. 6(c)). Creep resistance of
MA-956 is superior to that of iron aluminides
2 Al + 3 H,O + Al2O3 + 6 H (1)
because of the dispersion of yttria by mechanical
The atomic hydrogen generated in the above alloying (see Fig. 7). It is to be recognized that the
reaction is believed to cause hydrogen embrittle- cost of mechanically alloyed MA-956 is higher by
ment in atmospheres containing water vapor, and a factor of 30 as opposed to the Fe,Al-based
tensile elongations of Fe,Al and FeAl improved alloys discussed in this paper. Our preliminary
significantly when tested either in vacuum or oxy- results suggest that yttria dispersion can improve
gen.28.29 However, practical applications exploiting the creep properties of Fe,Al alloys, and the cost
the oxidation, carburization, and sulfidation resis- of mechanical alloying will also increase the price
tances of the iron aluminides generally involve of Fe,Al alloys.
water vapor (large quantities in some cases) and The high-aluminum content of iron aluminides
may even have atomic hydrogen. Design engineers allows the formation of a protective alumina layer
are, therefore, restricted to the strengths and tensile that imparts sulfidation resistance to iron alu-
elongations of iron aluminides measured in air. minides. Therefore, iron aluminides are particu-
Extensive alloying efforts to optimize properties larly suitable in harsh, aggressive, and corrosive
such as creep resistance; room- and high-temperature environments up to 800C as compared to FeCrAl
strengths; and oxidation, carburization, and sulfi- and FeCrNi alloys (see Fig. 8). Also, Fe,Al alloys
dation resistances, while maintaining reasonably could easily be hot worked at or above 800C
good room-temperature ductility, resulted in several and further processing such as rolling can be done
Fe,Al alloys containing 2-5 at% Cr.27.30,3Compo- in the temperature range of 600&8OOC.
sitions of Fe,Al alloys, along with a commercially Aluminides based on FeAl exhibit better oxida-
available mechanically alloyed FeCrAlY with yttria tion and corrosion resistance than Fe,Al alloys
dispersion (sold by Into Alloys (Huntington, West and are also lower in density by as much as
Virginia) as MA-956),* are shown in Table 4. It is 30-40/;1 as compared to steels and other commer-
clear from Fig. 6 that yield and ultimate tensile cial iron-based alloys. Mechanical properties of
strengths of wrought Fe,Al-based alloys are signifi- binary FeAl are dependent on the aluminum con-
cantly higher at room temperature and retain their tent as can be seen in Fig. 9, which shows the

Table 4. Compositions of Fe,Al-based alloys developed for commercial applications and compositions of some commercial alloys

Element Alloy (wt%)

FAS FALh FA- 129 FAH Fecralloy MA-956 Type 310

Al 15.9 15.9 15.9 15.9 4.5 -

Cr 2.20 5.5 5.5 5.5 16.0 20.0 25.0
I3 0.01 0.01 0.04
Zr 0.15 0.15
Nb - I.0 I.04
C - 0.05 - 0.02 0.15
MO - 1.00 -
Si - - 0.50
Y 0.3 -
y703 0.5
T; - - 0.5
Ni - 20.0
Fe d d d d d d d

Sulfidation-resistant alloy.
hHigh room-temperature (RT) tensile ductility.
High-temperature strength with good RT ductility.
Balance.
364 s. c. Deevi, V. K. Sikka

3 800

s
= 600 m--t FA-129

F
e
x 400

%
F 200
ZR
(u
d
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60

Temperature (C) P=(T+460)*(20+logtr)*1 O-3

(a) Fig. 7. A comparison of creep resistance of Fe,Al-based alloys

c with MA-956 superalloy.
2 1200

r, 1000
c
?! 800
x
Q 600
=
:
I- 400

Temperature (C) 00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
@I Exposure Time (h)
200
Fig. 8. Weight gain as a function of time for FeAl alloys
exposed to a gas mixture at 800C with P,, = 10m6atm and
g PO, = 10m2 atm (courtesy of J. H. DeVan, Oak Ridge
150
National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee).
6
G
zl
: 100
the addition of chromium up to 5 at% does not
5 improve the ductility significantly, 0.12 at% B (300
zz 50 ppm) enhances the ductility of Fe-35.8 at% Al
I- from 2.2-5.6%. On the other hand, even as little
O as 0.06 at% B resulted in severe edge and end
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 cracks during hot rolling. Such edge cracking during
Temperature (C) hot rolling was not observed with the addition
(c) of zirconium, and the ductility enhancement was
Fig. 6. A comparison of (a) yield strengths, (b) ultimate tensile observed in the range of 0.1-0.2 at% Zr.32 Exten-
strengths, and (c) tensile elongations of Fe,Al-based alloys sive evaluation of FeAl containing different levels of
with MA-956 superalloy.
boron and zirconium additions led to the under-
standing that the boron-to-zirconium atom ratio
variation of yield strengths and tensile elongations plays an important role in enhancing the room-
of binary FeAl alloys. While the yield strengths temperature ductility, and the optimum ratio was
increase with the increase of aluminum content up observed to be about two.
to 40 at0/o Al, room-temperature tensile elongations Maziasz et a1.33 have recently shown that cast
of aluminides decrease with the increase of aluminum FeAl alloys designated as FA-385, consisting of
content. Also, the yield strengths of FeAl are Fe-21.1 -41-0.42 MO-O. 1 Zr-0.03 C (all wt%), can
insensitive to the aluminum content at 700C and possess reasonable room-temperature ductilities
are too low for structural applications at or above (on the order of 68%) and high-temperature
700C. Low ductility of iron aluminides necessitates strengths, particularly with microadditions of
hot working above 700C and in practice, a tem- boron (see Figs 10(a) and (b)). Tensile elongations
perature of 900C or higher is employed. While and strengths of FeAl alloys in air improved
 Nickel and iron alumhides: an overview 365

420 A 200T
. 4OOC
1
l 6OOC
s
; 340 l 700%
sl
5
8 260
0
.9
*
160
FA-385 FA-385 FA-385
w/25 ppm w/so ppm
Boron BWOil
100 1 I I I I I
30 34 30 42 46 50 (4

1250 # I
Aluminum (at. X)
El Y&-Tested I Aor
n YeWTested I Oxygen
(4 ;;; 1000 - ._. .
q UTS-Tested in AN
60
1 % 750 1 ,E+ UTS-Tested en OxZY9

Jz
+a
48 A 200*c
E! 500
v 4oo*c E
2 l 600.C G
36 250
._5
s i L
0
P
o 24 FA-385 FA-385 FA-385
z w/25 pprn w/50 ppm
BCXOIl BOrOn

12 (b)
Fig. 10. Effects of boron microalloying additions on as-cast
FeAliFA-385 alloys tensile tested at room temperature,
-I
0 including (a) total elongation and (b) yield and ultimate tensile
30 34 38 42 46 50 strengths (courtesy of P. J. Maziasz and C. T. Liu, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee).
Aluminum (at. %)

@I

Fig. 9. (a) Plot of yield strength as a function of aluminum

concentration for FeAl alloys tested at temperatures to 7OOC,
and (b) plot of tensile elongation as a function of aluminum
concentration for FeAl alloys tested at temperatures to 700C. .-6
w
g 10

significantly when they were processed by extrusion 5

iii
as opposed to rolled or cast properties; extrusion ii 5
of nitrogen-atomized powder of FA-385 showed 5
I-
further ductility enhancement (see Fig. 11). Creep
O
resistance of iron aluminides is significantly lower Rolled at Rolled at Extruded As-Cast Powder
900C 900C at 900C Extruded
than that of many of the high-temperature alloys, HTl HT2 at 11ooc
and lack of creep strength limits their present use Fig. 11. Tensile elongation data at room temperature for
as structural materials above 800C. Low density, FeAl (FA-385) processed by different methods in both air
high-specific strength, and high-specific stiffness of and oxygen environments. HTl is a heat treatment of 1 h at
FeAl over steels and other nickel-based alloys are 9OOC, and HT2 is 1 h at 1000C. All other specimens were
only stress relieved for 1 h at 750C in air.
attractive for a variety of applications, and the
tensile elongations of FeAl are significantly better
than TiAl and Ni,Al intermetallics. The high-tem- Apart from the above advantages, iron aluminides
perature strengths of FeAl alloys are significantly (unlike many commercial heating element materials
better than a variety of polymeric composites and such as Ni-20 wt% Cr, iron alloys, nickel alloys,
aluminum alloys, and also have the added advantage and superalloys based on nickel, cobalt, and iron)
in that FeAl alloys can be obtained at a relatively possess high electrical resistivities. Figure 12(a) shows
low cost as compared to many of the intermediate a linear increase in electrical resistivity of binary
temperature range materials. FeAl with an increase in aluminum content, the
366 S. C. Deevi, V. K. Sikka

also lower than for nickel-based alloys. The thermal

expansion coefficients of iron aluminides are similar
to those of stainless steels. The similarity of thermal
expansion coefficients of steels and iron aluminides
suggests that iron aluminides can be used as bond-
coat materials for thermal spray coatings, or iron
aluminides can be coated or weld overlayed on a
variety of chemical and petrochemical reactors
against high-temperature oxidation, carburization,
and sulfidation.
I
0 4 8 12 16 200

WtXotAl
4 PROCESSING OF INTERMETALLICS
(4

Intermetallics can be processed by various means,

ii
2
b 0 ~~~~~~~~~I~~~I~~~~~,
-iii 0 200 400 600 800 1000
w
Temperature (C)
(b)
Fig. 12. (a) Variation of electrical resistivity of Fe-Al alloys
with increase of aluminum content and (b) a comparison
electrical resistivities of iron aluminides with those of com-
mercially available Haynes 214, 230, and 556 alloys. The
composition of FAH is Fe-28 Al-5 Cr-0.05 B (at%), and the
composition of FA-129 is Fee28 Al-5 Cr-0.5 Nb-0.5 MO-0.1
Zr-O-2 B (at%).
electrical resistivities of FeAl with 35 at0/o of alu-
minum being on the order of 150 pohm-cm or
higher. The high electrical resistivity of iron alumin-
ides is in stark contrast to the electrical resistivities
of most conventional electrical-resistance alloys
currently in use, and the substitution of transition
elements to binary FeAl may actually increase the
resistivity values beyond the 150 pohm-cm. It is
important to note that the electrical resistivities of
iron-aluminide alloys are typically above 150
pohm-cm and can be as high as 200 pohm-cm
(see Fig. 12(b)). Electrical resistivities of superalloys
such as Haynes 214, Haynes 230, and Haynes 556
are 2040% lower than the electrical resistivities of
Fe,Al-based alloys such as FA-124 and FAH. It is
interesting to note that both Fe,Al and FeAl possess
a positive temperature coefficient of resistance up
to at least 600C.
Consistent with their high electrical resistivities,
the thermal conductivities of iron aluminides are
and the processing methods vary depending on
the product (i.e. plate, sheet, foil, bar, rod, and
tube). Figure 13 provides a schematic of possible
---t Haynes 556
processing methods by means of melting and by
the use of elemental powder-processing (reaction
synthesis) techniques. Although the elemental
powder approach is novel, melting remains the
primary processing technique to obtain a variety
of cast, wrought, and powder-metallurgical prod-
1200 ucts. Melting techniques will determine whether
an intermetallic can be obtained economically
with good control of the composition, and with
minimal or no porosity in the cast structure. Melting
of methods can be used to obtain atomized pow-
ders for powder-metallurgical processing of inter-
metallics.
The melting techniques such as air-induction
melting (AIM), vacuum-induction melting (VIM),
vacuum-arc melting (VAR), and vacuum arc-double
electrode melting (VADER) are applicable to melt
and obtain intermetallics with different levels of
purity. Along with melting techniques, process
parameters such as crucibles; melting atmosphere
(air, inert gas, vacuum); furnace loading of low-
and high-melting-point metals; and most impor-
tantly, the ability to use recycled material with
close control of target composition need to be
considered.
Of the above techniques discussed in the previous
section, AIM is the most economical technique
and can be used if a protective slag can be gener-
ated easily on top of the melt. Our experience
shows that nickel aluminides can be obtained by
the AIM process with an argon cover while the
VIM process is most suitable for iron aluminides.
The VIM process will eliminate the solidification
porosity associated with the escape of dissolved
hydrogen (generated from dissociation of mois-
ture) in AIM castings.
 Nickel and iron aluminides: an overview 367

Fig. 13. Possible processing methods to obtain intermetallic compounds such as bar, sheet, foil, and tube.

4.1 Factors affecting melting of intermetallics higher melting points of some intermetallics com-
pared to aluminum and transition metals; and (5)
Unlike conventional steels, alloys, and superalloys, the reactivity and vapor pressures of alloying ele-
melting of intermetallics requires consideration of ments in atmospheres such as air and vacuum at
factors including: (1) the difference between the the melt temperatures.
melting points of aluminum and transition metals In general, aluminide formation is an exothermic
such as nickel, iron, titanium, and niobium (see process (see Table 1 for heats of formation), and
Table 5); (2) the large amounts of aluminum the exothermic nature of aluminide formation has
(lo-30 wt%) as opposed to < 0.5% of aluminum been a great concern for melters due to the uncon-
in most commercial alloys and < 5 wt% Al in trolled nature of the reaction. The lack of expertise
superalloys; (3) the exothermic nature of the inter- in melting alloys with high-aluminum contents and
metallic compound formation (see Table 1); (4) the the safety issues associated with the melting practice
limited the commercial-scale melting and casting
Table 5. Densities, crystal structures, melting points, and boiling of intermetallics. On the other hand, the exothermic
points of aluminum, nickel, and iron reaction has been successfully implemented by a
variety of investigators to obtain aluminides from
Element Density Crystal Melting Boiling
(g/cc) structure point (C) point (C) elemental powders by combustion- or reaction-
synthesis techniques. 3b39 It has been shown that
Al 2.702 fee 660 2520 only melting of aluminum is needed for the forma-
Ni 8.90 fee 1453 2910
Fe 7.86 bee (a). fee (a) 1536 2860 tion of intermetallics by combustion- and reaction-
Ti 4.5 hcp(a), bee(P) 1670 3290 synthesis techniques while melting of aluminum
Nb 8.57 bee 2468 4750 and transition metal is needed for most industrial
co 8.9 hcp(a)> fee(P) 1495 2870
melting and casting techniques. Although reaction-
368 S. C. Dee\ li, V. K. Sikka

synthesis principles have been extended by the

authors to obtain rods of nickel and iron alu-
minides,40,4 reaction synthesis and densification
approach cannot provide large parts with intricate
shapes and configurations. Also, it cannot be applied
to every intermetallic system in an economical
way. Therefore, conventional melting processes
need to be modified to effectively utilize the
exothermic reactions during the melting of inter-
metallics. Proper utilization of the exothermic
reaction, as in the case of combustion-synthesis
technique, can result in substantial energy savings
and may also reduce the time needed for melting.
The proper use of the heat released can also result
in control of the chemical composition and forma-
tion of oxidation product (slag).

4.2 Conventional melting process

In a conventional melting process, nickel aluminide
is obtained by melting nickel and loading alu-
minum into the molten nickel melt stock. This
process requires heating the melt stock to a tempera-
ture of 1600C prior to the addition of aluminum.
Melting of aluminum is generally not preferred
since molten aluminum can seep through the crucible
as the temperature is raised to 800C or higher
and damage the induction coil with serious safety
issues to the furnace and the operators. The addition
of aluminum to the molten nickel melt stock can
raise the temperature of the crucible by several
hundred degrees and will also result in oxidation
of aluminum and some other alloying elements.
To validate the issues associated with the conven-
tional melting process, a batch of alloying elements
of composition IC-221M (see Table 2) was loaded
into the crucible. This composition exhibits high
strength as compared to the other N&Al-based
alloy compositions developed at ORNL and also
requires about 6 at% less aluminum than pure
N&Al (IC-50). Alloying elements such as Cr, MO,
Zr, and B were sandwiched within the nickel melt
stock to prevent oxidation. The entire melt stock
was inductively heated in a zirconia crucible.
Three W-5% Re versus W-26% Re thermocouples
were located in the crucible to measure the tempera-
tures. The addition of aluminum to the molten
nickel melt stock at 1600C initiated a violent
exothermic reaction instantaneously. A peak tem-
perature of 2300C was noted within 1 min. The
crucible was at a temperature of 2100C for several
minutes, and a high-temperature vapor cloud escaped
from the crucible as a result of the oxidation of
aluminum (see Fig. 14). It is important to note
Fig. 14. A photograph of the high-temperature vapor cloud
formed after the addition of aluminum to molten nickel melt
stock.
that the oxidation of aluminum and zirconium is
much more exothermic and releases significantly
higher energies than the heats of formation of
nickel aluminides.
2 Al + 3/2 O2 + A1203,AH = AOO.2 k Cal/g mole (2)
Zr + O2 + ZrO,, AH = -261.8 k Cal/g mole (3)
Therefore, the addition of aluminum to the melt
stock is undesirable, owing to the possibility of
exceeding the safe operating temperatures of a
ceramic crucible (such as alumina, zirconia, and
mullite). Also an uncontrolled oxidation could
raise the temperature of the crucibles close to their
melting points. Further, the temperature rise asso-
ciated with the addition of aluminum to the
molten nickel melt stock could potentially lead to
disastrous results if molten metal comes into con-
tact with water if the crucible cracks.
4 .3 Exo-MeltTM process
Research at ORNL addressed the above safety
issues and focused on the melting, casting, and
processing of N&Al- and Fe,Al-based alloys for
commercial utilization of intermetallics. Melting
and casting of over 100 heats of N&Al- and Fe,Al-
based alloys were accomplished successfully with
the Exo-MeltTM process to obtain several thousand
kilograms of nickel and iron aluminides. The Exo-
MeltTM process consists of dividing the melt stock
into several parts in a furnace-loading sequence
 Nickel and iron aluminides: an overview
such that a very exothermic reaction with a high-
adiabatic combustion temperature is favored initially,
leading to a molten product. In the case of nickel
aluminides, the formation of NiAl is highly
exothermic, and the adiabatic combustion tempera-
ture is the melting point of NiAl. On the other
hand, N&Al formation would only give rise to a
combustion temperature of 13OOC,and a value of
= 1400C (melting point of Ni,Al = 1395C) can
be achieved only if the melt stock is preheated to
the melting point of aluminum.42A4
An optimized furnace-loading sequence, based on
the Exo-MeltTM process, is shown schematically in
Fig. 15 for melting N&Al- and Fe,Al-based alloys.
In this sequence, nickel was split into two parts.
First, the top part of the loading is combined with
all the aluminum to initially form NiAl. Second,
the remaining nickel of the melt stock is loaded at
the bottom. All of the alloying elements of a par-
ticular melt stock are loaded between the top and
bottom layers of nickel. It is important to note
that several pieces of aluminum melt stock were
vertically placed inside the wall of the zirconia
crucible so that the molten aluminum would react
with the nickel melt stock in a controlled manner.
Melting was carried out under an argon cover by
monitoring the temperature of the melt stock.
Exothermic-diffusional reactions between the molten
aluminum and the solid nickel melt stock were
observed at different locations in the crucible.
Temperature measurements and a video recording
of the melting confirmed the occurrence of exo-
thermic reaction in the top layer. Thermodynamic
calculations suggest that the reaction of molten
aluminum with the nickel melt stock at a tempera-
Thermocouple Leads
I easily and safely with the Exo-MeltTM process as
Fig. 15. A schematic representation of furnace loading employed
in the Exo-MeltTM process.
369
ture of 700C or above leads to molten NiAl. Alloy-
ing elements are dissolved as the molten NiAl
drips down onto the heated nickel melt stock.
Additional NiAl liquid is formed as the furnace
temperature is raised, and the exothermic reaction
continues until the reaction between molten alu-
minum and heated nickel melt stock is complete.
The furnace-loading sequence shown in Fig. 15
allowed the rate of reaction to be controlled. The
rate of reaction between the molten aluminum and
the nickel melt stock is also controlled by the large-
size nickel melt stock which is at least on the order
of 0.5-2.0 cm diam. The crucible temperature
never exceeded the melting point of NiAl. The
crucible life is extended since the crucible experi-
ences a maximum temperature of 1640C for
about 10 min at most.
4.4 Advantages of the Exo-MeltTM process over
conventional melting process
In the Exo-MeltTM process, exothermic reactions
are initiated just after the melting of aluminum,
whereas the melting of nickel melt stock is required
in the conventional process. In addition to the
above, the power required to melt a batch of IC-
221M by the Exo-MeltTM process is 47% lower
(2.92 kWh) than with the conventional process
(5.5 kWh). Time required to melt and pour the
intermetallic by the Exo-MeltTM process can be
reduced by 50% as opposed to a conventional pro-
cess. All of these resulted in substantial savings in
energy and a reduction in processing cost. Unique
attributes of the Exo-MeltTM process are com-
pared with the conventional process in Table 6.
Target composition of an alloy can be reached
compared to a conventional process. Recovery of
the elements by Exo-MeltTM and conventional
processes is shown in Table 7. Target composition
can be attained even in melting of larger melt
stocks, and recovery of the elements from a 272
kg melt stock is also shown in Table 7. The tech-
nique has successfully been implemented in the
melting of iron and titanium aluminides. High levels
of aluminum present in the alloys allowed forma-
tion of A1203 (slag) on top of the molten metal.
The low levels of oxygen and nitrogen (< 40 ppm
by weight) indicate that the oxide film was highly
impervious. Oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon impuri-
ties are generally around 0.012 wt%. Melting of
the alloys in air under an argon gas cover allowed
the reduction of oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen
levels and enhanced the recovery of elements.
370 S. C. Deevi. V. K. Sikka

Table 6. Comparison of Exo-MeltTM process with conventional melting process

Feature Melting process

Conventional Exo-MeltTM

Time to melt Unit time One-half the melting time of the

conventional method
Power Unit power One-half to two-thirds the power
of the conventional method
Safety Safety issues due to excessive No safety issue other than the
crucible wear normal wear
cost Unit cost One-half the cost of the
conventional method
Oxide inclusion Excessive inclusions Much less than the conventional
formation method
Bath temperature No control Real control
control
Crucible life Excessive wear Normal wear
Vacuum melting Not easy Possible with reproducible results
Industrial Not many companies are Used successfully by several
acceptance interested due to the safety companies
concerns

Table 7. Comparison of recovery of elements of IC-221M ingots obtained by the Exo-MeltTM and conventional melting processes
with the target composition

Element Target Percent recovery of elements

composition
(wtY0) Exo-MeltTM Conventional Exo-MeltTM
process process process
(10 kg batch) (10 kg batch) (272 kg batch)

Ni 81.146 b b b
Cr 7.74 98.84 98.96 99.48
MO 1.428 100 100 100
Al 7.981 98.23 95.35 100
B 0.008 100 100 100
Zr 1.697 81.31 77.19 91.92

Melting was carried out in air with an argon cover.

Balance.
One-and-a-half times the required amount of zirconium was added to compensate for the loss of zirconium.

5 INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OF their unique properties. Some of the components

INTERMETALLICS AND THE EXO-MELTTM manufactured to date based on the Exo-MeltTM
PROCESS process are:

During the past year, the Exo-MeltTM process and (1) Transfer rolls of nickel aluminide (N&Al-
its principles have been communicated to industry, based alloy) to operate at or above 900C in
and a total of 15 000 kg of melt stock were melted steel plants (see Fig. 16). Transfer rolls have
by industry for casting a variety of components. shown no degradation due to thermal and
The technique has been utilized for the melting of mechanical loading during a 1 year period in
both nickel- and iron-based alloys. a continuous operation, and tests are pro-
The unique combination of high strength coupled gressing. In this application, the N&Al-based
with excellent oxidation and corrosion resistances alloy competes with an HU or modified HU
sparked the interest in Ni,Al- (IC-221M), Fe,Al-, steel roll and provides better performance
and FeAl-based alloys. Several structural compo- through its higher strength (sagging and creep
nents have been cast into net shapes to exploit resistance) and better oxidation resistance
 Nickel and iron aluminides: an overview 371

shapes. The rails provide a means of moving

(4) Centrifugally cast tubes and static sand-cast
Fig, 16. Fabricated transfer-roll assembly from pipe and
trunnions cast by the Exo-MeltTM process for heat-treating
process operational trials in heat-treating furnaces at a Steel
Plant. The 2270 kg heats of nickel aluminide were melted by
the Exo-MeltTM process at Sandusky International (Sandusky,
Ohio) and centrifugally cast into 36.75 cm-OD X 2.54 cm-
wall x 6 m-long pipes.
(walking) the workpiece being heated from
the loading end to the exit end after reach-
ing the desired temperature in the range of
1lOO-1200C. In this application, the N&Al-
based alloy provides the advantage of high-
temperature strength and oxidation resistance.
In some cases, a combination of N&Al- and
Fe,Al-based alloy rails was also tested. The
Fe,Al-based portion was used to avoid
incipient melting of N&Al-based alloy at the
furnace end closest to the burners.
return bends of N&Al- and FeAl-based alloys
for radiant-burner-tube applications in gas-
fired heating application (see Fig. 18). Once
again, the alloy being replaced is HU steel,

with resultant oxide of uniform thickness

and nonabrasive properties.
(2) Heat-treating trays (N&Al-based alloy) and
posts (Ni,Al- and FeAl-based alloys) for oper-
ation in carburizing furnaces (see Fig. 17).
In this application, the N&Al-based alloy
competes with the most commonly used HU
alloy. The N&Al-based alloy performs better
because it resists carburization and correspon-
ding embrittlement. It also provides longer
life because of its higher tensile and creep
strengths and resistance to thermal fatigue
resulting from frequent quenching in oil.
(4
(3) Rails for walking-beam furnaces. The walk-
ing-beam furnaces are used for heating bars
of steel prior to their hot forging into

Fig. 17. The 272 kg heats of nickel aluminide
melted using
the Exo-MeltTM process at Alloy Engineering & Casting
Company (Champaign, Illinois) and cast into heat-treating
fixtures and posts.
Fig. 18. (a) Radiant tubes of IC-221M and FeAl alloy cast
for use as radiant heat exchangers - a close-up view showing
different wall thicknesses of the radiant tubes, and (b)
U-bends of IC-221M and FeAl alloy for welding at the ends
of the radiant tubes.
372 S. C. Deevi, V. K. Sikka

and advantage is taken of higher tensile and

creep strengths, oxidation, and carburiza-
tion resistances of N&Al-based alloys. For
some furnaces operating at temperatures
approaching 800-900C the FeAl alloy
tubes offer the benefit of significantly lower
density and resistance to sulfidation and
molten-salt corrosion.
(5) Grate bars of IC-221M (see Fig. 19). These
bars are used for calcination of ores at high
temperatures. The Ni,Al-based alloy IC-221 M
provides the advantage of its superior strength
(resistance to sag under loading condition)
and resistance to carburization and oxida-
tion from the calcination environment. Several
grate bars are currently in a production test.
(6) Die blocks of IC-221 M for closed-die for
hot forging (see Fig. 20). In this application,
advantage is taken of the higher wear resis-
tance from the oxide scale that builds up on Fig. 20. Die block of IC-221M for mechanical forging of
parts. The die block was cast at United Defense (Anniston,
the steel bars heated in air prior to forging. Alabama).
Advantage is also taken of the higher
strength at die-skin temperature which potential benefit comes from lower density.
approaches 800-900C and resistance to However, engine testing will be required to
thermal fatigue. show the total performance improvement
(7) A paddle for mixing ceramic slurries and a over the currently used materials.
high-temperature guide roller for furnaces. (10) Corrosion-resistant tool bits for the pulp
In these applications, advantage is taken of and paper industry based on N&Al as a
superior wear resistance at high temperatures. binder phase in WC-N&AI composites (see
(8) Nuts and bolts of N&Al-based alloy for
high-temperature applications (see Fig. 21).
These bolts are to be used in high-tempera-
ture carburizing environments where they
do not become embrittled by carbon pickup
and hold their high-temperature strength.
(9) Automotive piston valves based on FeAl
alloys (see Fig. 22). In this application, the

Fig. 19. IC-221M gate bar for use in processing ores at 800C
or higher in corrosive environments. The bar was cast at Fig. 21. Nuts and bolts of IC-221M for operation at high
United Defense (Anniston, Alabama). temperatures.
 Nickel and iron aluminides: an overview
Fig. 22. Automotive piston valves of FeAl alloys cast by
investment casting using the Exo-MeltTM process.
Fig. 23). The N&Al-based tungsten carbide
replaces cobalt, the conventional binder,
which is both expensive and more toxic.
(11) Porous gas-metal filters of Fe,Al-based alloy
for coal gasification systems (see Fig. 24). In
this application, the filter removes ash from
the gas produced from the gasification of
coal. The filter performs better because of
higher resistance of the Fe,Al-based alloys
to sulfidation in the coal gas as opposed to
stainless steel. The Fe,Al-based alloy filters
may further increase the use of temperature
and resistance to sulfidation and oxidation.
Fig. 23. Hot-pressed composites and tool bits of tungsten car-
bide and IC-50 (courtesy of T. N. Tiegs, Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee).
313
Fig. 24. Porous filter of Fe3Al-based alloy centrifugally cast
and sintered from water-atomized powder. The filter was
manufactured at PALL Corporation (Cortland, New York).
Apart from the above, intermetallics based on
nickel and iron offer potential as piping and tubing
in chemical and petrochemical industries, high-
temperature shields, exhaust manifolds, and catalytic-
converter substrates. They can be used as replace-
ments to several of the existing commercial steels,
stainless steels, and other alloys. The unique phys-
ical, mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties
of the materials, coupled with the desire to extend
the service life of components, will make inter-
metallics the materials of choice by design engineers
and manufacturers. Towards this end, alloying
efforts and the development and invention of the
Exo-MeltTM process will allow the melting and
casting of intermetallics, and bring us a step closer
to the manufacture and utilization of inter-
metallics for high-temperature applications.
6 CONCLUSIONS
Mechanical, oxidation, carburization, and sulfida-
tion properties of intermetallic compounds based
on N&Al-, Fe,Al-, and FeAl-based alloys are dis-
cussed and compared with several of the commer-
cially available materials. The following conclusions
can be drawn based on the comparisons presented
in this paper:
(1) N&Al-based alloys have significantly better
tensile and creep properties over the com-
mercially available HU alloy and comparable
to that of Haynes 214.
(2) N&Al-based alloys also exhibit superior
oxidation and carburization resistances as
opposed to HU and many other alloys.
374 S. C. Deevi. V. K. Sikka

(3) Powder-metallurgically produced N&Al-based C. R. Howell for plotting the data; E. K. Ohriner
alloy can exhibit significantly higher strength and P. J. Maziasz for internal review; K. Spence
than a nickel-based superalloy such as for editing; and M. L. Atchley for preparing the
Haynes 214. manuscript.
(4) Fe,Al-based alloys are comparable in tensile Research for this work was sponsored by the
strengths with the yttria-dispersed MA-956 U.S. Department of Energy, Assistant Secretary
but exhibit poor creep resistance as compared for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office
to MA-956. of Industrial Technologies, Advanced Industrial
(5) Fe&based and FeAl alloys have significantly Materials (AIM) Program, and Office of Fossil
better oxidation and sulfidation resistances Energy, Advanced Research and Technology
than many of the commercial iron- and Development Materials Program [DOE/FE AA 15
nickel-based alloys. 10 10 0, Work Breakdown Structure Element
(6) The exothermicity associated with the for- ORNL-2(H)], under contract DE-AC05-840R21400
mation of aluminides can be harnessed to with Lockheed Martin Energy Systems.
save time and energy needed for melting
and casting intermetallics by the Exo-
MeltTM process. REFERENCES
(7) Melting and casting of intermetallics by the
1. Westbrook, J. H., (ed), Mechanical Properties of Inter-
Exo-MeltTM process can be carried out in metallic Compounds, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York,
air with an argon cover with excellent 1959.
recovery of elements. 2. Westbrook, J. H., Intermetallic Compounds, John Wiley
& Sons Inc., New York, 1960.
(8) The Exo-MeltTM process is inherently safe 3. Stoloff, N. S. & Davis, R. G., Prog. Mater. Sci., 13
and limits the temperature rise during melt- (1966) 1.
ing of intermetallics. 4. Baker, I. & Munroe, P. R., High Temperature Aluminides
and Intermetallics, Materials Research Society, Warren-
(9) Melting and pouring of intermetallics can dale, Pennsylvania, 1990, pp. 425-57.
be carried out within the safe operating 5. High Temperature Ordered Intermetallic Alloys I-VI, pub-
temperature regime of ceramic crucibles. lished as Mater. Res. Symp. Proc., 39 (1985) 81 (1987),
(10) The Exo-MeltTM process has been used to 133 (1989), 213 (1991) 288 (1993), and 364 (1995).
6. Izumi, O., (ed), Intermetallic Compounds - Structure
melt and cast a wide variety of components and Mechanical Properties, Proc. JllM-6, Japan Insti-
for structural use, and a total of 15 000 kg tute of Metals, Tokyo, 1991.
of intermetallics were cast by the Exo- 7. Cahn, R. W., Metals Muteriuls and Processes, l( 1) (1989)
l-19.
MeltTM process in 1995.
8. Westbrook, J. H., Intermetallic Compounds - Principles.
Vol. I, eds J. H. Westbrook & R. L. Fleischer, John
There is a strong industrial interest in the use of Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, 1994, pp. 3-18.
nickel and iron aluminides for a wide range of appli- 9. Aoki, K. & Izumi, 0.. Nipyon Kixoku Gakkuishi, 43
(1973) 1190.
cations. Still, many challenges remain in the indus- 10. Liu, C. T. & Stiegler, J. 0.. Science, 226 (1984) 636.
trial utilization of intermetallics. The intermetallics 11. Liu, C. T., White, C. L. & Horton, J. A., Acta. Metall.,
discussed in this paper can be cast successfully, 33 (1985) 213.
12. George, E. P., Yamaguchi, M., Kumar, K. S. & Liu,
and the molten metal technology would allow C. T., Annu. Rev. Mater. Sci., 24 (1994) 401.
wrought and forged products, but the technology 13. Liu, C. T. & Sikka, V. K., JOM, 38(5) (1986) 19.
for the production of sheet, wire, and rod needs to 14. Liu, C. T., Intermetallic Compounds - Practice, Vol. 2.
eds J. H. Westbrook & R. L. Fleischer, John Wiley &
be further developed for extensive commercial uti-
Sons Inc., New York, 1994, pp. 17-51.
lization. Even with some of the manufacturing 15. George. E. P.. Liu. C. T. & Pope, D. P., Ser. Metall., 28
issues remaining to be solved, properties of inter- (1993-j 857.
metallics can now be realized and exploited to 16. Deng, W., Xiong, L. Y., Lung, C. W., Wang, S. H. &
Guo, J. T., J. Muter, Sci. Lett., 14(4) (1995) 291.
some extent after several decades of scientific 17. Liu, C. T., Structural Intermetallics, eds R. Darolia et al.,
development and commercial interest worldwide. TMS, Warrendale, Pennsylvania, 1993, pp. 365-77.
18. Cast Heat Resistant Alloys, Report No. 1196, The Inter-
national Nickel Company, Inc., New York, 1974.
19. Haynes Alloy No. 214, Haynes International, Kokomo,
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Indiana, 1986.
20. Product literature, Into Alloys International, Hunting-
ton, West Virginia, 1988.
The authors thank Professor R. W. Cahn of the 21. Tiegs, T. N., Menchhofer, P. A., Plucknett, K. P.,
University of Cambridge, UK and C. T. Liu for Alexander, K. B., Becher, P. F. & Waters, S. B., Proc.
encouragement and review of the manuscript; Fourth Intl. Conf: on Powder Metallurgy in Aerospace,
 Nickel and iron aluminides: an overview 375

Defense und Demanding Applications, ed. F. H. Froes, in Corrosive Environments, ORNL/TM- 12199, Lockheed
Metal Powder Industries Federation, Princeton, New Martin Energy Systems, Oak Ridge Natl. Lab., Oak
Jersey, 1995. Ridge, Tennessee, 1993.
22. Baker, I. & Gaydosh, D. J., Mater. Sci. Eng., % (1987) 147. 33. Maziasz, P. J., Liu, C. T. & Goodwin, G. M., Proceed-
23. Gaydosh, D. J., Draper, S. L. & Nathal, M. V., Metall. ings of 2nd International Conference on Heat Resistant
Trans., 20A (1989) 1701. Materials, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, ASM International,
24. Vedula, K., Intermetallic Compounds - Practice, Vol. 2, Cleveland, Ohio, 1995, 555566.
eds J. H. Westbrook & R. L. Fleischer, John Wiley & 34. Munir, Z. A. & Anselmi-Tamburini, V., Mater. Sci. Rep.,
Sons Ltd., New York, 1994, pp. 1999209. 3 (1989) 277.
25. Hardwick, D. & Wallwork, G., Rev. High Temp. Mater., 35. Naiborodenka, Y. S. & Itin, V. I., Combust. E.xplos.
4 (1978) 47. Shock Waves, 11 (1975) 293.
26. Schneibel, J. H. & Crimp, M. A., (eds), Processing, Prop- 36. Bose, A., Rabin, B. H. & German, R. M., Powder Met-
erties and Applications of Iron Aluminides, The Minerals, all. Znt., 20(3) (1988) 25.
Metals and Materials Society, Warrendale, Pennsylvania, 37. Rabin, B. H. & Wright, R. N., Metal/. Trans., 22A (1991)
1994. 277.
27. McKamey, C. G., DeVan, J. H., Tortorelli, P. F. & 38. Nishimura, C. & Liu, C. T., Acta Metall., 41(l) (1993)
Sikka, V. K., J. Muter. Res., 6(8) (1991) 1779. 113.
28. Liu, C. T., Lee, E. H. & McKamey, C. T., Ser. Metal/., 39. Dunand, D., Mater. ManuJ Proc., lO(3) (1995) 373.
23 (1989) 875-80. 40. Deevi, S. C. & Sikka, V. K., Proceedings of 2nd Internu-
29. McKamey, C. G., Horton. J. A. & Liu, C. T., Ser. Met- tional Conference on Heat Resistant Materials, Gatlin-
all., 22 (1988) 1679. burg, Tennessee, ASM International, Cleveland, Ohio,
30. Sikka, V. K., McKamey, C. G., Howell, C. R. & Bald- 1995, pp. 275-86.
win, R. H., Properties of Large Heats of Fe,Al-Based Alu- 41. Deevi, S. C. & Sikka, V. K., Mater. Rex Symp. Proc.,
minides, ORNL/TM- I 1796, Lockheed Martin Energy Sys- 364 (1995) 917.
tems, Oak Ridge Natl. Lab., Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 1991. 42. Sikka, V. K., Deevi, S. C. & Vought, J. D., Adv. Mater.
31. Sikka. V. K., Processing, Properties and Application of Proc., 147(6) (1995) 29-31.
Iron AIuminides, eds J. H. Schneibel & M. A. Crimp, The 43. Deevi, S. C. & Sikka, V. K., Exo-MeltTM Process for
Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, Warrendale, Melting and Casting of Intermetallics, submitted to Met-
Pennsylvania, 1994, pp. 3318. all. Trans. A.
32. Liu. C. T.. Sikka, V. K. & McKamey, C. G., Alloy 44. Deevi, S. C. & Sikka, V. K., Mater. Technol. 10(5/6)
Development of FeAl Aluminide Alloys for Structural Use (1995) 97.