Improvements in manufacture of iridium alloy materials

Conference · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992

OSTI ID:10165559

Ohriner, E K

Iridium alloys are used as fuel-cladding material in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). Hardware produced at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been used in Voyager 1 and 2, Galileo, and Ulysses spacecraft. This hardware was fabricated from small, 500-g drop-cast ingots. Porosity in these ingots and the resulting defects in the rolled sheets caused rejection of about 30% of the product. An improved manufacturing process was developed with the goal of substantially reducing the level of defects in the rolled sheets. The ingot size is increased to 10 kg and is produced by vacuum arc remelting. In addition, the ingot is hot extruded prior to rolling. Since implementation of the process in 1989, the average rate of rejection of the product has been reduced to below 10%.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 10165559
• Report Number(s): CONF-930103--2; ON: DE92017126
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES
070300
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360101
EXTRUSION
FABRICATION
IRIDIUM BASE ALLOYS
ISOTOPIC POWER SUPPLIES
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
PLUTONIUM DIOXIDE
PREPARATION AND FABRICATION
QUALITY CONTROL
RADIOISOTOPE HEAT SOURCES
VACUUM MELTING