Computational design and development of new highstrength, high-ductility castable titanium alloys

Transcription

1 Computational design and development of new highstrength, high-ductility Jason Sebastian, Ph.D. Jim Wright, Ph.D. Herng-Jeng Jou, Ph.D. Sean Backs 18 June 2012 Some images from Nastac, Int. J. of Cast Metals Research, 2006

2 Agenda Overview of QuesTek Innovations Titanium alloy development program background Titanium alloy design Prototype alloy production and test results Next steps p. 2

3 Abstract QuesTek Innovations has applied its Materials by Design approach to invent, design, and develop three new with strength and ductility characteristics similar to wrought titanium (e.g., wrought Ti-6Al-4V). The development of these alloys has been sponsored by a U.S. Army-funded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program administered through Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. QuesTek s titanium alloy computational design has considered a number of important factors including strength, toughness, alpha/beta transformation kinetics, and castability/solidification. The new alloys have been designed to be lower cost in terms of: 1) Near-net-shape formability (castability); 2) Raw materials (alloying additions); 3) Tolerance to impurities (e.g., oxygen and/or iron); and 4) Overall ease of processing (e.g., response to hot isostatic pressing, and overall microstructural and mechanical property robustness with respect to cooling rate after heat treatment). Results will be presented from initial prototype wedge castings, further commercial-scale ingot production, ongoing alloy specification development efforts (ASTM and AMS), and first-round Army component production and testing. QuesTek is seeking partnerships (titanium casting designers, titanium alloy producers, titanium foundries, etc.) to further commercialize its new castable titanium alloy technologies. p. 3

4 QuesTek titanium alloy highlights Castable titanium Near-net-shape processing Three new QuesTek alloys (QT-Ti-1A, QT-Ti-2A, QT-Ti-2B) Better strength-ductility than cast Ti-6-4 A higher-performance replacement for existing Ti-6-4 castings Similar strength-ductility to wrought Ti-6-4 Castable (lower cost) replacement for existing Ti-6-4 forgings Lower cost Reduced vanadium (relative to Ti-6-4) Tolerance to oxygen Can incorporate Ti-6-4 scrap into melting stock QuesTek seeks partnerships to further commercialize its new titanium alloy technology (titanium alloy producers, titanium foundries, etc.) p. 4

5 Overall SBIR project summary Phase I Base: Initial alloy design and button-scale production Option: 1 st round wedge castings Phase II Alloy re-design 2 nd round wedge castings Component casting Additional ingot production Fluidity mold casting tests Testing and characterization Test bar mold casting Cost modeling ALCS casting at RIA Further ingot production Beyond Patent pending (full utility filed in April 2011) Initial discussions with potential alloy licensees p. 5

6 Background - QuesTek Innovations LLC Founded engineers (10 with PhDs) A global leader in computational materials design: Our Materials by Design technology and expertise applies Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) tools and methods to design new alloys 50% faster and at 70% less cost than traditional empirical methods Aligned with President Obama s Materials Genome Initiative Creates IP and licenses it to alloy producers, processors or OEMs 30+ patents awarded or pending worldwide 4 computationally-designed, commercially-sold alloys Designing 10+ new Fe, Al, Cu, Ni, Co, Nb, Ti, Mo and W based alloys for government and industry p. 6

7 Serving DoD and others to significantly improve equipment performance, affordability, and EHS p. 7

8 Integrated Computational Materials Design Approach p. 8

9 Commercializing New Alloys Thru Licensees Four new computationally-designed, VIM/VAR steels: Ferrium S53 Licensee #1 - Feb. 2007: Licensee #2 - Dec. 2007: Ferrium C61 and C64 Licensee #1 - Nov. 2009: Ferrium M54 Licensee #1 - April 2010: More Licensees are Anticipated QuesTek is creating robust, competitive supply chains 9 p. 9

10 Titanium System Design Chart PROCESSING STRUCTURE PROPERTIES Cooling rate Heat treatment - (super-solvus) HIP (sub-solvus) Cast Raw Material α/β substructure Interlocking basketweave Retained β Grain features Minimize α film Avoid equiaxed α Grain size Porosity Strength Ductility/ Toughness p. 10

11 Key design feature vs. Ti-64: refined, interlocking α/β microstructure QT-Ti-1A QT-Ti-6-4 Interlocking, finer α laths Both alloys after vacuum heat treatment and gas quench (~1-2 C/sec.) Parallel α laths Comparison microstructures are shown at equivalent magnifications p. 11

12 SBIR castings and alloy production First round of wedge castings (2010) QT-Ti-6-4, QT-Ti-1A, QT-Ti-1B, QT-Ti-1C Second round of wedge castings (2011) QT-Ti-2A, QT-Ti-2B Mortar buffer housing component production (2011) Two from Ti-6-4 Four from QT-Ti-2A p. 12

13 From buttons to wedges to ingots to components in three years Phase I Option wedges Phase II component and test bar castings Phase I Base buttons Phase II ingots p. 13

14 Strength Elongation Comparison QuesTek s cast alloy has higher strength and ductility than cast Ti-6-4 Baseline Ti-6-4 cast by QuesTek using identical methods to 1A, 2A, 2B Reference: Nastac, Int. J. of Cast Metals Research, 2006 Developed 3 under Army SBIR Currently moving forward with the QT-Ti-1A p. 14

15 High Temperature Tensile Comparison with Cast Ti-6242 QuesTek s alloy has higher strength and ductility up to 800 F **Ti-6242 data from Aerospace Structural Metals Database p. 15

16 High temperature testing summary (left to right: 2A, 1A, 2B; solid lines) compared with ASMH cast Ti-6242 data (dotted lines) p. 16

17 High temperature testing summary (left to right: 2A, 1A, 2B) compared with ASMH forged Ti-6242 data p. 17

18 Potential Applications: Initial applications are for the U.S. Army, who sponsored the development research Potential applications: Lightweight mortar buffer housings M777 Howitzer M240L Golf clubs Aerospace engines & airframes Medical devices? QuesTek seeks partnerships to further commercialize its new titanium alloy technology (titanium alloy producers, titanium foundries, etc.) V-22 Future Upgrade CH-53K p. 18

19 Data Development Plan Testing is underway of heat treated specimens for S-basis analysis for development of an AMS document 3 bar sizes: RD, 1 RD, 1.5 RD Testing complete Summer 2012 HIP + HT condition Present / submit for AMS and ASTM p. 19

20 QuesTek titanium alloy summary Castable titanium Near-net-shape processing Three new QuesTek alloys (QT-Ti-1A, QT-Ti-2A, QT-Ti-2B) Better strength-ductility than cast Ti-6-4 A higher-performance replacement for existing Ti-6-4 castings Similar strength-ductility to wrought Ti-6-4 Castable (lower cost) replacement for existing Ti-6-4 forgings Lower cost Reduced vanadium (relative to Ti-6-4) Tolerance to oxygen Can incorporate Ti-6-4 scrap into melting stock QuesTek seeks partnerships to further commercialize its new titanium alloy technology (titanium alloy producers, titanium foundries, etc.) p. 20

21 Relationships sought With commercial partners interested in pursuing commercial applications With platforms/program offices DoD With OEMs/Primes supporting these platforms/program offices p. 21

22 Current State of Development SBIR Milestone TRL Risk-Test Measure of Success TRL Date Phase 2 Yr 2 Finalize Alloy Design and Cast Demonstration Components 5 Low Achieve properties in initial casting demonstrations Nov (program concludes Nov. 2012) Initial presentation to ASTM for inclusion in ASTM B367 5 Low Agreement by ASTM Committee for QuesTek to submit full data package for proposed inclusion in ASTM B367 May 2012 TRL Required Tests, Demos, and Next Steps Target Date Estimated Funding Required Organizations to be Involved 6 Identify, produce and prototype additional 2013 TBD TBD demonstration components in relevant environment 6 ASTM / ASM specifications ~2013 $0 ASTM / ASM 6 Establish initial production license $0 TBD p. 22

23 Contact information For more information, contact: Jason Sebastian, Ph.D. Senior Materials Design Engineer QuesTek Innovations p. 23