Development and Analysis of Advanced Functional Alloys (Manufacturing and investigation of FeCrCo and NiCrMo Alloys)

Abstract

This work comprises of research on development and analysis of two selected alloys based
on economic viewpoint, namely; Fe-Cr-Co magnetic alloy and NiCrMo dental casting
alloy. The research was initiated for compliance to the United Nations guidelines for the
Global Goals. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the goals of United
Nations for peace and prosperity for the people and the planet. The SDGs are an urgent
call for action to end poverty and improve health, economy and education. In order to
comply with the SDGs, this project was aimed to attend the three global goals including;
i) Goal-3 for Good Health and Well Being, ii) Goal-7 for Affordable and Clean Energy
and iii) Goal-9 for Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. Accordingly this research was
carried out on low cost FeCrCo magnetic alloy and NiCrMo dental casting alloy. FeCrCo
alloy is the most economical alloy for permanent magnet making as it uses low cost
elements; however, energy product can be produced that is at par with that of Alnico
magnets. Similarly, NiCrMo alloy is also a very economical dental casting alloy that
possess properties equivalent to that of gold alloys, used for the purpose of dental
restorations. Both the alloys are technically very suitable for poor and developing nations
for providing economical solutions. Economical processing and production FeCrCo
magnets can contribute to the efficient high speed motors and for affordable and clean
energy devices. Also this research conducted on NiCrMo dental casting alloy is a
remarkable contribution towards affordable dental health care.
FeCrCo is a typical deformable magnetic alloy. In this research, the FeCrCo alloy with
low cobalt content (12%) is developed, processed and analyzed. Effect of minor alloying
with silicon was investigated, where enhancement of remanence ratio and improvement in
squareness of the MH curve was noted with the double isothermal thermomagnetic
processing. Taguchi design approach was utilized for properties optimization. Signal to
noise ratio mean plots demonstrated that best magnetic characteristics, maximum energy
product (BHmax) up to 3.89 MGOe, achieved in samples that were forged,
thermomagnetically processed and thermally aged for 24 hour treatment cycle.
NiCrMo alloy being a low cost alloy is popular for dental restorations. Currently NiCrMo
alloys are in use by dental labs that contain beryllium in its composition, which is
carcinogenic in nature. This research work is conducted on manufacturing and
development of the NiCrMo dental casting alloy with minor additions of titanium, cerium
and boron to enhance strength, corrosion and tribological characteristics and lower
temperature range for ease of fabrication. Novelty is that addition of 0.2 percent Boron
with 0.4 percent cerium in the base NiCrMo dental casting alloy is found with outstanding
combination of characteristics, well suited for dental restorations. The alloy developed has
economic significance especially for poor and developing nations as the NiCrMo alloy can
be used as replacement for gold based costly alloys. The work done could also help in
avoiding Be-containing NiCrMo alloys and is a contribution to the bulk material sciences.

Date of Award	24 Dec 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	National University of Sciences and Technology Pakistan