SUPERALLOY TO CUT CARBON EMISSIONS

A NOVEL SUPERALLOY EMISSIONS GENERATED BY POWER PLANTS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REDUCE CARBON

AS THE WORLD LOOKS FOR WAYS TO CUT greenhouse gas emissions, researchers from Sandia National Laboratories have shown that a new 3D-printed superalloy could help power plants generate more electricity while producing less carbon.

Sandia scientists, collaborating with researchers at Ames National Laboratory, Iowa State University and Bruker Corp., used a 3D printer to create a high-performance metal alloy, or superalloy, with an unusual composition that makes it stronger and lighter than state-of-the-art materials currently used in gas turbine machinery. The findings could have broad impacts across the energy sector as well as the aerospace and automotive industries, and hints at a new class of similar alloys waiting to be discovered.

Sandia scientist Andrew Kustas stated that their research demonstrates the ability of the material to achieve high strength, low weight, and hightemperature resiliency, which were previously unattainable. He believes that the additive manufacturing approach played a crucial role in achieving these results.

Material withstands high heat, essential for power plant turbines

Electricity—whether from fossil fuel or nuclear power plants, relay on heat to turn turbines that generate electricity. Power plant efficiency is limited by how hot metal turbine parts can get. If turbines can operate at higher temperatures, “then more energy can be converted to electricity while reducing the amount of waste heat released to the environment,” said Sal Rodriguez, a Sandia nuclear engineer who did not participate in the research.