NEWTON, Mass., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- H.C. Starck Inc., FPR Group, a worldwide manufacturer of refractory metals and fabricated products is introducing its Ultra 76 Tantalum Alloy for improved performance in Chemical Process Industries at the 1st CSCP-NACE Conference & Exhibition in Beijing, China, Sept 14-17, 2009.
Corrosion resistant Tantalum (Ta) alloys have been used in various process industries involving aggressive, hazardous chemicals. These Ta-alloys have been proven to provide the optimum cost-effective, long service-life for critical components in severe corrosive environments.
However, it is known that hydrogen embrittlement adversely affects the bulk alloy mechanical properties and therefore impacts the reliable performance of conventional Ta-alloys in some applications. Historically, brittle fracture due to hydrogen embrittlement rather than metal loss from corrosion has been the predominant failure mechanism of conventional Ta-alloys in aggressive acid solutions.
To address the issue of hydrogen embrittlement of conventional Ta-alloys and ensure reliable performance, H.C. Starck's engineers developed a new, improved Ta-alloy, Ultra 76 Tantalum, with reduced tendency for damages by hydrogen, along with enhanced corrosion resistance.
Test results in aggressive HCl environments outside currently acceptable ranges show the new Ultra 76 Tantalum alloy exhibits lower corrosion rates, but more importantly hydrogen embrittlement rates that are 1 to 2 order of magnitude lower than those of conventional Ta-alloys. Additionally, testing in aggressive H2SO4 solutions also outside currently acceptable ranges reveals the Ultra 76 Tantalum alloy had lower corrosion rates with hydrogen embrittlement rates that were 5 to 10 times lower than conventional alloys.
With comparable mechanical properties to those of conventional Ta-alloys, Ultra 76 Tantalum can be easily adopted to the same processing and fabrication techniques. However, Ultra 76 Tantalum does not require the additional steps of "Platinum Spot welding" that are commonly used in conventional Ta-alloys components, in order to reduce damage due to hydrogen embrittlement. Such advantages of the Ultra 76 Tantalum should allow simplified fabrication, avoid inconvenient repairs and production losses, and ensure reliable, long service-life.
Visit H.C. Starck at Booth 140 at the 1st CSCP-NACE 2009 Conference & Exhibition and ask for Robert Zhang, Thomas Dziobek or Aziz Asphahani. For more information about the Ultra 76 Tantalum alloy, email info@hcstarck.com or go to http://www.hcstarck.com .
