Niobium-Zirconium Alloys

Description

Niobium is one of the most promising refractory metals for ultra-high temperature structural applications, because of its very high melting temperature. It is the lightest refractory metal, with density close to that of nickel, and with good thermal conductivity and low ductile-brittle transition temperature. However, although niobium is attractive in terms of high melting temperatures and good room temperature ductility, its applications have been limited because of its poor high temperature strength and oxidation resistance ^[1]. Therefore, niobium alloy has become a research hotspot.

Zirconium is a very strong, malleable, ductile, lustrous silver-gray metal with chemical and physical properties similar to titanium. Zirconium is extremely resistant to heat and corrosion, hence the addition of zirconium to niobium can improve the strength of the alloy without affecting the plasticity and processing properties, in the meantime, zirconium can also improve the oxidation resistance and alkali metal corrosion resistance of the alloy.

Among various Niobium-Zirconium alloys, Nb99Zr1 is the most widely used one. It is a low-strength niobium alloy with good processing and welding performance. In addition to greatly increasing the strength of pure niobium at higher temperatures, Nb99Zr1 also has low thermal nuclear capture cross-section properties making it an outstanding alloy used in aerospace, atomic energy reactor, new electric light source sodium lamp and other applications.

Alfa Chemistry is a trusted supplier of high-quality Niobium-Zirconium alloy products including:

Alfa Chemistry specializes in providing high quality metals and alloys. We also provide professional custom production services to help our customers accelerate their own R&D and reduce the costs, and we are always available to answer any questions you may have during the R&D and production process. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are in need of assistance.

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Reference

1. Chaudhary, Shishir, Sankar, M., Prasad, V.V. Satya, Baligidad, R.G. and Gokhale, A.A.. Effect of tungsten and zirconium on structure and properties of niobium. High Temperature Materials and Processes, vol. 37, no. 8, 2018, pp. 749-759.