Advances in High Temperature Niobium-Based Alloys for Aerospace

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Compared with other types of superalloys, high-temperature niobium alloys have the advantages of low density, high-temperature (600-1600°C) specific strength, excellent cold and hot formability and good welding performance, and can be processed into thin-walled and complex-shaped parts. It is one of the important candidate materials for aerospace structural parts, such as thrust chamber body extensions of attitude control/orbit control engines used to manufacture rocket engines, satellites, spacecraft and missiles. In order to meet the needs of aerospace engines, our country has successively developed a variety of niobium alloy structural materials for rocket engines, among which C-103 and Nb521 alloys are the most commonly used.


In the 1960s, traditional niobium-based alloys began to be used in the aerospace and nuclear industries. The most commonly used alloy is C-103 (Nb-10Hf-1Ti) niobium alloy, which can be used for high-temperature valves and the top of rocket thrusters. and the flaps of the turbo booster. In the 1990s, with the development of aerospace technology, various countries successively launched a new round of competitive development in the fields of rocket engines, satellite attitude control engines, and supersonic aircraft. They also put forward higher requirements for high-temperature structural materials. Therefore, niobium alloys have once again received further attention.


In response to the needs of the aerospace industry, the United States and the former Soviet Union have successively developed more than 20 niobium alloys and formed their own systems. Niobium alloys in the United States mainly use W, Mo and Hf as strengthening elements, while those in the former Soviet Union mainly use W, Mo, and Zr. The second phase dispersion strengthening is mainly carbide, and is mostly used for high specific impulse, adjustable thrust, A bicomponent liquid rocket engine that can be started multiple times. Among them, the United States mainly uses C-103 alloy, with a temperature as high as 1200~1400 ℃; the former Soviet Union mainly uses niobium alloy 5ΒΜЦ (Nb-5W-2Mo-1Zr) alloy, which has a density similar to C-103, but uses The temperature can reach 1200 ~ 1650 ℃, and can reach 2000 ℃ in a short time. Our country has developed niobium alloy structural materials for aerospace engines such as C-103, Cb-752, C-129Y, D43, SCb-291 and Nb521, among which the most widely used are C-103 and Nb521 alloys.