| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2023 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Alloy Behavior and Design Across Length-Scales: An SMD Symposium Honoring Easo George
|
| Presentation Title |
Physical Metallurgy and Mechanical Properties of Iridium and Platinum Alloys Used in Power and Heat Sources Onboard Interplanetary Spacecraft |
| Author(s) |
Easo P. George |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Easo P. George |
| Abstract Scope |
Iridium alloys are used to clad the plutonia fuel used in radioisotope thermoelectric generators that provide electric power onboard interplanetary spacecraft. Platinum alloys are used to clad smaller pellets of plutonia whose decay heat is used to keep the electronics of spacecraft from freezing in deep space. Both these alloys have the face-centered cubic crystal structure but exhibit distinctly different mechanical properties, especially at high strain rates. I will review what we have learned over the years about the effects of grain size, temperature, trace elements (good, bad, and indifferent) on their tensile/fracture properties over a wide range of strain rates spanning six orders of magnitude (10E-3 to 10E3 per second). The underlying mechanisms responsible for these effects will be discussed and interesting directions for future research pointed out. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Mechanical Properties, High-Temperature Materials, Characterization |