Recent advances in ordered intermetallics

Ordered intermetallic alloys based on aluminides and silicides offer many advantages for structural use at elevated temperatures in hostile environments. Their attractive properties include excellent oxidation and corrosion resistance, light weight, and superior strength at elevated temperatures. The major concern for structural use of intermetallics was their low ductility and poor fracture resistance at ambient temperatures. For the past ten years, considerable effort has been devoted to the research and development of ordered intermetallic alloys, and good progress has been made on understanding intrinsic and extrinsic factors controlling brittle fracture in intermetallic alloys based on aluminides and silicides. Parallel efforts on alloy design have led to the development of a number of ductile and strong intermetallic alloys based on Ni (3) Al, NiAl, Fe(3)Al, FeAl, Ti(3) Al and TiAl systems for structural applications. © 1995.