High-temperature alloy materials are widely used in aerospace engines, automobile engines, gas turbines, nuclear power, petrochemicals and other fields due to their excellent oxidation resistance and thermal corrosion resistance.

Characteristics



The so-called high-temperature alloy is a type of alloy that can work for a long time at a high temperature above 600°C and under certain stress. Compared with traditional metals, high-temperature alloy materials have high temperature and high strength; good oxidation resistance and thermal corrosion resistance; good fatigue resistance, fracture toughness, and good elasticity and plasticity.

Classification

There are generally three ways to divide high-temperature alloys: according to the type of matrix elements, according to the type of alloy strengthening, and according to the material forming method.

Classification of high-temperature alloys

Preparation process

High-temperature alloy products are mainly non-standardized, so the production process is relatively complicated, but it can basically be divided into three steps: smelting, casting and hot processing. The powder metallurgy industry replaces the casting process with hot pressing.

Process production flow of various high-temperature alloys

Application

High-temperature alloys are widely used in aerospace engines, automobile engines, gas turbines, nuclear power, petrochemicals and other fields due to their excellent oxidation resistance and thermal corrosion resistance.

Among many application fields, aerospace still occupies the most important position, accounting for 55% of the total demand, followed by the power industry, accounting for 20%.

Aircraft engine

High-temperature alloys have been used in aircraft engines since their birth. In modern aircraft engines, high-temperature alloy materials are mainly used for four major hot end components: combustion chamber, guide chamber, turbine blades and turbine disks, in addition to casings, rings, afterburners and tail nozzles.

Application of high-temperature alloys in aircraft engines

Forecast of high-temperature alloy demand for different models

The amount of high-temperature alloy materials accounts for 40-60% of the total weight of the engine, and this proportion exceeds 50% or even more in advanced engines.

Civil aviation engine

On July 11, 2016, Boeing released the latest version of "Current Market Outlook" on the first day of the Farnborough Air Show, predicting that the world will need 39,620 new aircraft in the next 20 years, an increase of 4.1% over last year's forecast.

Global civil aircraft demand from 2016 to 2035

Due to the different proportions of high-temperature alloys required for engines of different aircraft models, it is estimated that the total demand for high-temperature alloys for new aircraft engines of various types of civil aviation in the next 20 years will be 427,000 tons.

Demand for high-temperature alloys for different civil aviation aircraft models

Global civil aircraft high-temperature alloy demand from 2016 to 2035

my country's civil aviation engine market is also very broad. According to Boeing's forecast, by 2032, the number of new aircraft in China will exceed 5,580, and it is expected that my country's civil aviation demand for high-temperature alloys will exceed 38,000 tons.

Forecast of my country's civil aviation demand for high-temperature alloys by 2032

Civil aviation engines

According to the data predicted by the US Department of Defense, it is expected that China's new fighter jets will reach 1,430, military large aircraft will reach 1,500, and training aircraft will reach 500 in the next 20 years, and the total demand for high-temperature alloys will reach 57,000 tons.

In addition, the maintenance and repair of existing military aircraft is converted into the number of engines required to be 2,000, and the corresponding demand for high-temperature alloys reaches about 10,000 tons. Therefore, the demand for high-temperature alloys in the military field will reach 67,000 tons.

Forecast of demand for high-temperature alloys in my country's military aircraft field in the next 20 years

Gas turbine

Gas turbine is another major use of high-temperature alloys, and its structure and principle are similar to those of aircraft engines. Since the temperature of the gas sprayed onto the impeller of the gas turbine is as high as 1300℃, the impeller needs to be made of high-temperature alloys.

Schematic diagram of gas turbine structure

The application of gas turbines is divided into the field of gas turbines for power generation and the field of gas turbines for ships, mainly the latter. In the military field, more than 75% of the main naval ships use gas turbine power.

Global market distribution of gas turbines for ships

For the global gas turbine high-temperature alloy market, according to Rolls-Royce's forecast in 2013, in the next 20 years, the market demand for gas turbines as ship power will reach 270 billion US dollars, and the corresponding service demand will reach 125 billion US dollars, and the market space is broad.

At present, only about 10 main warships in my country use gas engines, and the technical problems of domestic ship gas turbines have been solved. my country's navy is expected to form a combat system of three major offshore fleets and several aircraft carrier formations. It is expected to add about 97 destroyers and frigates and about 200 small and medium-sized ships. The demand for high-temperature alloys is expected to be about 33,000 tons.

Forecast of demand for high-temperature alloys for ship gas turbines in my country

Automobile turbocharger

The turbine of automobile exhaust gas turbocharger is also an important application field of high-temperature alloy materials. At present, the turbine impellers used by turbocharger manufacturers in my country are mostly nickel-based high-temperature alloy turbine impellers, which together with the turbine shaft and compressor impeller form a rotor.

Automobile turbocharger

According to cnii, the configuration rate of turbocharging in new passenger cars sold in my country in 2015 was about 31%, and it is expected that by 2020, the proportion of turbocharging in passenger cars in my country will be as high as 47%. Turbocharged vehicles will increase from 7.5 million in 2015 to 23 million in 2025, with a total demand of 106,000 tons of high-temperature alloys and a market value of over 20 billion yuan.

Forecast of my country's automotive turbocharger high-temperature alloy demand from 2015 to 2025

Nuclear power field

High-temperature alloys for nuclear power include: fuel element cladding materials, structural materials and fuel rod positioning grids, high-temperature gas furnace heat exchangers, etc., which are difficult to replace by other materials.

According to the 2009 prospectus of Gangyan Gaona, my country's nuclear power installed capacity increased by 2,300 kilowatts in the ten years from 2010 to 2020, and 18 million kilowatts are under construction. The corresponding high-temperature alloy demand is 6,000 tons, worth 2.4 billion yuan.

Other fields

High-temperature alloy materials are also widely used in glass manufacturing, metallurgy, medical equipment and other fields.

Overview of domestic and foreign high-temperature alloy manufacturers

Foreign leading manufacturers

At present, the global consumption of high-temperature alloy materials is nearly 280,000 tons per year, and the market size has reached 10 billion US dollars. There are no more than 50 companies in the world that can produce high-temperature alloys for aerospace, mainly concentrated in the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and other countries.

Major domestic high-temperature alloy manufacturers

my country's research and development of high-temperature alloys started in the 1960s, forming a unique alloy system and making significant progress. So far, many production and scientific research units have been established, and there are already production bases for deformed high-temperature alloys, cast high-temperature alloys and production and research bases for high-end high-temperature alloy materials.