Design of Cast Heat Resistant Alloys With Improved Creep Strength

Cast heat resistant alloys are used in the petrochemical industry for reformer furnace tubes and ethylene pyrolisis coils. These alloys have traditionally been developed through the casting of trial compositions with differing additions of alloying elements followed by long term (10,000 hour) stress to rupture testing. It is now possible to shorten the development process through the use of computational thermodynamics and a detailed understanding of composition, microstructure and property relationships. This paper will provide examples of how alloys can be developed through a combination of thermodynamic modeling, microstructural characterization, and mechanical property measurements.