2080 – 04 – Applications of Exotic Metals & Superalloys
Superalloys and Exotic metals are essential to many industries:
The aerospace industry needs tools and equipment with a high strength-to-weight ratio and not a lot of thermal expansion. Turbine blades and jet engine parts need heat resistant materials that are light, which can also be as strong as steel.
Equipment on oilrigs in stormy seas, for example, needs to be able to withstand extreme weather conditions in addition to salt water and petrochemical corrosion. Only superalloys combine the corrosion resistance and strength necessary to succeed in such an intense environment.
Nuclear power reactors also use super alloys. They require metals that can operate in high temperatures, withstand extreme pressures, and endure corrosive environments.
The medical industry, though, has an entirely different use for exotic metals and superalloys. Surgical instruments, for example, need to be very strong, light, and precise. Implants, like hip replacements, need to be able to coexist with human tissue without degrading or causing an allergic reaction. and implants need to fulfill highly specialized purposes.