Development of two rhenium- containing superalloys for single- crystal blade and directionally solidified vane applications in advanced turbine engines

A team approach involving several turbine engine companies using the concepts of simultaneous engi-neering has been used to successfully develop CMSX-4 ® alloy for turbine blade applications. CMSX-4 al-loy is a second-generation, single-crystal cast nickel-base superalloy containing 3% Re and approximately 70% volume fraction of γ. The high level of balanced properties determined by labora-tory evaluation has been confirmed during field testing of the Solarγ Mars T-14000 industrial gas turbine with CMSX-4 single-crystal (SX) blades in both the coated and bare condition. A similar collaborative ap-proach has resulted in the successful development of CM 186 LCγ alloy for complex, directionally solidi-fied (DS) columnar grain vane segments. CM 186 LC alloy is a second-generation DS columnar grain cast nickel-base superalloy containing 3% Re and approximately 65% volume fraction of γ. Excellent com-ponent producibility and quality is demonstrated. Turbine engine testing is scheduled to commence by the end of 1993.