Superalloys, the most successful alloy system of modern times - past, present and future

The deep roots of superalloys go back to 1907, although the term ‘super-alloy’ is believed to have first been used in the mid 1940s to refer to cobalt-base alloys such as Vitallium and nickelbase Waspaloy®. During the past 50 years, much alloy, hot working, heat treating and process development has occurred, enabling many of the end use technologies we know today. This presentation will discuss some of the history of the superalloy industry related to the superalloys 718, Waspaloy and their derivatives, including ATI 718Plus® alloy. The presentation will then describe the wide range of manufacturing techniques used for the production of superalloys, available product forms and end-use applications. Concluding the presentation will be a discussion on what advancements we are likely to see in the future. (AU) © 2010 by The Materials, Metals, & Materials Society. All rights reserved.