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Iron-Based Amorphous Metals: High-Performance Corrosion-Resistant Material Development

  • Symposium: Iron Based Amorphous Metals: An Important Family of High-Performance Corrosion-Resistant Materials
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Abstract

An overview of the High-Performance Corrosion-Resistant Materials (HPCRM) Program, which was cosponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Civilian and Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), is discussed. Programmatic investigations have included a broad range of topics: alloy design and composition, materials synthesis, thermal stability, corrosion resistance, environmental cracking, mechanical properties, damage tolerance, radiation effects, and important potential applications. Amorphous alloys identified as SAM2X5 (Fe49.7Cr17.7Mn1.9Mo7.4W1.6B15.2C3.8Si2.4) and SAM1651 (Fe48Mo14Cr15Y2C15B6) have been produced as meltspun ribbons (MSRs), dropcast ingots, and thermal-spray coatings. Chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), and tungsten (W) additions provided corrosion resistance, while boron (B) enabled glass formation. Earlier electrochemical studies of MSRs and ingots of these amorphous alloys demonstrated outstanding passive film stability. More recently, thermal-spray coatings of these amorphous alloys have been made and subjected to long-term salt-fog and immersion tests; good corrosion resistance has been observed during salt-fog testing. Corrosion rates were measured in situ with linear polarization, while the open-circuit corrosion potentials (OCPs) were simultaneously monitored; reasonably good performance was observed. The sensitivity of these measurements to electrolyte composition and temperature was determined. The high boron content of this particular amorphous metal makes this amorphous alloy an effective neutron absorber and suitable for criticality-control applications. In general, the corrosion resistance of such iron-based amorphous metals is maintained at operating temperatures up to the glass transition temperature. These materials are much harder than conventional stainless steel and Ni-based materials, and are proving to have excellent wear properties, sufficient to warrant their use in earth excavation, drilling, and tunnel-boring applications. Large areas have been successfully coated with these materials, with thicknesses of approximately 1 cm. The observed corrosion resistance may enable applications of importance in industries such as oil and gas production, refining, nuclear power generation, shipping, etc.

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Acknowledgments

This work was done under the auspices of the U.S. DOE at the LLNL, under Contract No. W-7405-Eng-48. The work was sponsored by the U.S. DOE, OCRWM, and DARPA DSO. The authors gratefully acknowledge the guidance of Leo Christodoulou at DARPA DSO and of Jeffrey Walker at DOE OCRWM.

The production of MSRs and gas-atomized powders by The NanoSteel Company (Idaho Falls, ID) and the gas atomization of the SAM1651 powder by Carpenter Powder Products (Pittsburgh, PA) are gratefully acknowledged. The production of coatings from these powders by Plasma Technology Incorporated (Torrance, CA) and Caterpillar (Peoria, IL) are also gratefully acknowledged. Salt-fog testing was performed by E-Labs (Fredericksburg, VA).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Jor-Shan Choi (Scientist)

    Present address: Go-Neri Program, Department of Nuclear Engineering and Management, Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan

  2. Dan Day (Assistant Engineer)

    Present address: V & A Engineering, Oakland, CA, 94612, USA

  3. Phillip Hailey (Scientist)

    Present address: , Oakland, CA, 90605, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, 94550, USA

    Joseph Farmer (Directorate Senior Scientist), Jor-Shan Choi (Scientist), Cheng Saw (Scientist), Jeffrey Haslam (Scientist), Dan Day (Assistant Engineer) & Phillip Hailey (Scientist)

  2. Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Tiangan Lian (Scientist)

  3. General Electric Global Research Center, Niskayuna, NY, 12309, USA

    Raul Rebak (Scientist)

  4. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    John Perepezko (Professor)

  5. Math Science & Engineering Department, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106-7204, USA

    Joe Payer (Professor)

  6. Institute of Nanomaterials Research and Development, The NanoSteel Company, Idaho Falls, ID, 83402, USA

    Daniel Branagan (Chief Technical Officer)

  7. Caterpillar Incorporated, Peoria, IL, 61552, USA

    Brad Beardsley (Engineer)

  8. Plasma Technology Incorporated, Torrance, CA, 90501, USA

    Andy D’amato (Engineer)

  9. Strategic Analysis, Arlington, VA, 22201, USA

    Lou Aprigliano (Scientist)

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  1. Joseph Farmer
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Correspondence to Joseph Farmer.

Additional information

This article is based on a presentation given in the symposium entitled “Iron-Based Amorphous Metals: An Important Family of High-Performance Corrosion-Resistant Materials” which occurred during the MS&T meeting, September 16-20, 2007, in Detroit, Michigan under the auspices of The American Ceramics Society (ACerS), The Association for Iron and Steel Technology (AIST), ASM International, and TMS.

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Farmer, J., Choi, JS., Saw, C. et al. Iron-Based Amorphous Metals: High-Performance Corrosion-Resistant Material Development. Metall Mater Trans A 40, 1289–1305 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-008-9779-8

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