John Perepezko
A project led by Materials Science and Engineering Professor John Perepezko has been selected for funding by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).
The $650,000 federal funding will support the project, titled “Additive Manufacturing of Ultrahigh Temperature Refractory Metal Alloys.” It is one of 17 projects selected by ARPA-E’s Ultrahigh Temperature Impervious Materials Advancing Turbine Efficiency (ULTIMATE) program. The goal of the program is to develop ultrahigh temperature materials for gas turbine use in aviation and power generation. In particular, the program aims to develop materials that can withstand continuous operation at 1300 C or 1800 C with coatings and cooling techniques as well as new manufacturing techniques to produce the turbine components.
Perepezko’s project will investigate the manufacture of ultrahigh temperature materials and will employ a novel additive manufacturing technique based on thermodynamically guided alloy selection as well as high-throughput materials synthesis and characterization using reactive synthesis of powders. It will also include an innovative processing scheme to produce test materials and possibly turbine components that can withstand high operating temperatures.
After phase 1 of the program, projects will be evaluated for potential inclusion in phase 2.