INTERMETALLIC ALLOYS AND COMPOSITES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: A BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES PROGRAM OF THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Progress has been made in intermetallic alloys over the past decade and a half, but intermetallics remain a relatively unexplored class of materials for energy applications. Hence, they offer considerable opportunities both for scientific research on fundamental structural property processing relationships and for technological development. The Department of Energy supports a program of scientific research on intermetallic alloys such as the nickel and iron aluminides and is establishing new research efforts in silicides and Laves phases through the program of the Division of Materials Sciences, of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences. Areas of research include theory and materials simulation, microalloying, high resolution sudies of structure and composition, mechanical properties, point defects and dislocation mechanics, phase transformations, and processing. Research is conducted through programs at the Department of Energy National Laboratories and through grants to academic and industrial researchers.Research results from Division of Materials Sciences programs have provided the basis and transportation. In addition, a cooperative effort between research groups has been established as a project on intermetallic materials under the Center of Excellence in Synthesis and Processing of Advanced Materials.