High-Temperature Alloys: Theory and Design

Summary

This conference, co-sponsored by the Metals and Ceramics Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the TMS-AIME Committee on Alloy Phases, was unique in that it brought together physicists and metallurgists for three days to interface on the theoretical and practical aspects of alloying with emphasis on high-temperature alloys. The alloy theorists are working feverishly on developing mathematical models to ultimately predict phase diagrams based on first principles, viz, atomic number. The metallurgists are developing alloys based on past experience and “enlightened empiricism.” By the end of this decade, we will look back on constructive phase diagrams by melting dozens of small heats as a form of alchemy.

Thirty-three talks were presented. The theorists covered the areas of thermodynamics and phase diagrams, electronic structure of disordered alloys, and electronic structure and ordering in alloys, whereas the metallurgists covered the areas of recent results in alloy design and analysis techniques. Approximately 70 people attended the conference which included several participants from Japan, England, Austria, and France.