When NETL celebrated its 25th anniversary as a Department of Energy national laboratory late last year, its busy Advanced Alloy Signature Center at its Albany, Oregon, site was highlighted as a national resource that bridges the gap between laboratory research and production for evolving metal alloys that are helping America develop more efficient and lasting energy systems.

Alloying is critical to increase strength and corrosion resistance of pure metals. Alloys are generally made by melting two or more metals together. The metals are mixed in the melt. Upon cooling and solidification, the resulting solid material is an alloy that is designed to resist corrosion and mechanical degradation when exposed to extreme environments.

NETL Acting Associate Director for Minerals Engineering and Manufacturing, Marisa Arnold, is the supervisor of NETL’s Structural Materials Team. She explained that the center has a solid history of forging the connections between laboratory-scale innovation and large-scale production.

“The work we do at the center puts NETL at the forefront of efforts to create the strongest, most innovative metal alloys possible,” she said. “Cost-effective, durable alloys are needed for creating new cutting-edge energy-producing processes and facilities that can generate resilient, secure, and affordable electricity.”

The center’s record of success is wide ranging from work with a medical company to develop a radiopaque stent alloy to creation of alloys and armor for the U.S. Army and much more.

The kinds of new alloys NETL research makes possible, can perform in extreme environments that range from the vacuum of space to the crushing pressures of the deep ocean.

Arnold said the alloy needs of the energy industry are evolving because of the diversification of power generation.

“For example, greater use of renewable, intermittent sources is resulting in plants being subjected to cyclic operating conditions that bring on changes in temperatures and pressures,” she said. “This ‘on-off’ operation mode can cause metal-fatigue of components, which increases materials performance requirements. Additionally, the safe production, transportation, and storage of hydrogen requires alloys that can withstand becoming brittle when exposed to hydrogen.”

The Advanced Alloy Signature Center also combines computations and artificial intelligence/machine learning with manufacturing at scale and assessment conditions. NETL’s advanced alloy development capabilities are anchored by its extensive ingot metallurgy research that allows validation of new alloy solutions at scales that readily translate from lab to industrial production. These capabilities and research help accelerate the commercialization of alloy concepts.

The center features a range of capabilities including:

• Induction melting, vacuum induction melting, vacuum arc remelting, electroslag remelting furnaces (up to 500 pounds).
• Press forge, rolling mills.
• Heat-treating furnaces with controlled environments.

The center is currently undergoing an expansion of capabilities to include:

• Extrusion press and wire drawing.
• Directional solidification induction melting.
• Cold wall induction skull melting.
• Electron beam melting.
• Electric arc furnaces for steel manufacturing and pyrometallurgy (50 and 300 pounds).

The work allows U.S. industry, government agencies (including other national laboratories) and research universities to validate and prototype alloy solutions that will accelerate the development of alloys needed to enable and deploy advanced technologies.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory dedicated to advancing the nation's energy future by creating innovative solutions that strengthen the security, affordability and reliability of energy systems and natural resources. With laboratories in Albany, Oregon; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, NETL creates advanced energy technologies that support DOE’s mission while fostering collaborations that will lead to a resilient and abundant energy future for the nation.