Superalloys are good candidates for elevated temperature applications. Nevertheless, their mechanical and microstructural stability at elevated temperature is limited. As an example, Inconel718 loses its mechanical properties at temperatures above ~650°C, which limits its application, as well as its durability and the life-time of the component. Current industrial applications of such an alloy (e.g. jet engine components) demand sometimes mechanical/microstructural stability at temperatures up to 750°C.

After a successful feasibility study (ALigHT project), in ALigHT II we implement a modern alloy design concept (high entropy alloys) in order to improve the thermal stability of existing Ni-based superalloys, trying to explore the ultimate application of the modern alloy design strategy. The provided knowledge will fill the gap for bringing the concept further towards full implementation and industrial application. The project integrates computational thermodynamic calculations as well as experimental work. The project consortium includes the whole value chain of the alloy development; Sandvik Materials Technology (supplier), GKN aerospace Sweden (end-user), Chalmers University of Technology and SWERIM (research institutes). ALigHT II has been funded by VINNOVA for Aug. 2018 until Jun. 2021.