Travelling by air has become a part of our lives and although a lot of people are yet to travel by air, over time with a reduction in fare price, it could become accessible to a whole lot of people. That said, have you wondered how the engines beneath the wings of planes survive those high altitudes, pressure, and temperature without getting destroyed while compressing air, and igniting fuel without melting?
I wondered about this for a while and since we live in a world connected to the internet, I decided to do my research on it. I realized that it is thanks to a special type of combined metal known as Inconel. Inconel is a combination of several alloys that are designed to perform at very extreme temperatures made up of chromium, nickel, and iron allowing it to be stable even at high temperatures.
Compared to lots of metals that change color, texture, and shape when in high heat, Inconel retains its shape even at a temperature of 1000 degrees Celsius. I must confess that I fell in love with this metal when I learned that it resists corrosion and oxidation.
Jet engines themselves can produce temperatures of up to 1700 degrees which can melt metals like aluminum and steel. Also, the jet engine does a lot of mechanical stress, so Inconel is used in areas where the jet engine is most hot and stresses like the turbine blades, combustor liners, exhaust component, and seals. While steel is strong and titanium is lightweight, they cannot withstand the heat that Inconel can.
Inconel forms a stable crystal structure even at extreme temperatures giving it high creep resistance thereby preventing it from stretching and deformation under intense heat and stress. Inconel can also be engineered to what the engineer wants including a powdery form. After seeing the properties of this metal, I wondered why it is not used in our everyday life and I realized that its scarcity is a result of price. Inconel is expensive compared to other types of metals. Both the metal and its engineering are expensive which makes it a better option to use less expensive metals in areas where Inconel isn’t the required.
Other metals with properties like Inconel are Hastelloy, Monel, Rene Alloy, and Waspaloy. These metals are used in turbine engines of different types of engines including aircraft.
https://www.metallurgyfordummies.com/what-is-inconel.html
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/inconel
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/inconel
https://www.corrotherm.co.uk/blog/inconel-alloy-625-in-aerospace
https://www.corrotherm.co.uk/jet-engines
https://www.addere.com/materials/inconel/inconel-in-the-aerospace-industry/
