Research > High Purity Metals and Alloys Department
The goal of the production of single and bi-crystals and pure metals is to obtain significant quantities (a few kg) of well-identified samples for studies of in-service properties. The study of the effects of impurities on processing and use properties requires the preparation of alloys with controlled purity, doped with selected impurities.
Melting is carried out in a cold crucible, by induction. The ingots (from 300g to 4kg) are solidified in the cold crucible and heat and cold forged into bars.
Purity is characterized by chemical analysis. Together with a network of Japanese, German, and US laboratories, the MHP laboratory contributes to a comparative round robin on pure iron.
The metals and alloys produced are base iron, base nickel and stainless steels prepared from purified iron, nickel and chromium. The single and bi-crystals are aluminium, copper, nickel, stainless steel and intermetallic FeAl alloys.
Research supported by the European Community, on corrosion resistance of Fe-20Cr-5Al refractory alloys above 1000°C is in progress in collaboration with Clausthal, Liverpool, Cranfield, Birmingham and Grenoble Universities, several industrial partners, and Jülich (D) and Petten (NL) EEC research centres.
A CNRS program entitled Multi-scale approach of macroscopic properties of structures materials is in progress in co-operation with CNRS laboratories at the Ecole Centrale de Paris, the Ecole Polytechnique, and ONERA.