What is Zirconium
Zirconium is a metallic element. Its monomer is a high melting point metal that is light gray in color. The surface of zirconium tends to form an oxide film with a certain luster, and its appearance is similar to that of steel. Zirconium is corrosion resistant and is soluble in hydrofluoric acid and aqua regia. At high temperatures, it can react with non-metallic elements and many metallic elements to produce solid solutions.
Zirconium has good plasticity, and it is easy to be processed into plates, wires and so on. Zirconium can absorb oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and other gases in large quantities when heated, so it can be used as hydrogen storage materials. The corrosion resistance of zirconium is close to that of niobium and tantalum and is better than that of titanium. Zirconium and hafnium are chemically similar, they are two metals that are symbiotic and contain radioactive substances.
| I | O | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 H |
II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | 2 He |
||||||||||
| 2 | 3 Li |
4 Be |
5 B |
6 C |
7 N |
8 O |
9 F |
10 Ne |
||||||||||
| 3 | 11 Na |
12 Mg |
III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | I | II | 13 Al |
14 Si |
15 P |
16 S |
17 Cl |
18 Ar |
||
| 4 | 19 K |
20 Ca |
21 Sc |
22 Ti |
23 V |
24 Cr |
25 Mn |
26 Fe |
27 Co |
28 Ni |
29 Cu |
30 Zn |
31 Ga |
32 Gc |
33 As |
34 Se |
35 Br |
36 Kr |
| 5 | 37 Rb |
38 Sr |
39 Y |
40 Zr |
41 Nb |
42 Mo |
43 Tc |
44 Ru |
45 Rh |
46 Pd |
47 Ag |
48 Cd |
49 In |
50 Sn |
51 Sb |
52 Te |
53 I |
54 Xe |
| 6 | 55 Cs |
56 Ba |
57-71 La-Lu |
72 Hf |
73 Ta |
74 W |
75 Re |
76 Os |
77 Ir |
78 Pt |
79 Au |
80 Hg |
81 Tl |
82 Pb |
83 Bi |
84 Po |
85 At |
86 Rn |
| 7 | 87 Fr |
88 Ra |
89-103 Ac-Lr |
104 Rf |
105 Db |
106 Sg |
107 Bh |
108 Hs |
109 Mt |
110 Ds |
111 Rg |
112 Uub |
||||||
| La-Lu | 57 La |
58 Ce |
59 Pr |
60 Nd |
61 Pm |
62 Sm |
63 Eu |
64 Gd |
65 Tb |
66 Dy |
67 Ho |
68 Er |
69 Tm |
70 Yb |
71 Lu |
|||
| Ac-Lr | 89 Ac |
90 Th |
91 Pa |
92 U |
93 Np |
94 Pu |
95 Am |
96 Cm |
97 Bk |
98 Cf |
99 Es |
100 Fm |
101 Md |
102 No |
103 Lr |
|||
- Item Name: Zirconium
- Element Symbol: Zr
- Atomic Number: 40
- Atomic Weight: 91.224
- Atomic Radius: 160pm
- Density: 6.49g/cm3
- Melting Point: 1852°C
- Boiling Point: 4377°C
- Electronic Layout: [Kr]4d25s2
The Atomic Structure of Zirconium
The Role of Zirconium in Nickel Alloys
Optimize Crystal Structure
In superalloys, zirconium is segregated to grain boundaries. This segregation phenomenon will reduce grain boundary defects and improve grain boundary bonding. At the same time, it will also reduce the diffusion rate of grain boundaries, thus strengthening the grain boundaries. In addition, the segregation of zirconium at grain boundaries will also change the morphology of the grains and reduce the size of the grains. This effectively prevents grain sliding, thereby increasing durability life, improving persistent plasticity and eliminating notch sensitivity.
Inconel 601GC is a typical application of zirconium element. GC means Grain Control. The zirconium content of 0.070% ~ 0.250% in the alloy plays a good role in controlling the grains.
601GC
Si
Mn
Al
Cu
Fe
Cr
Ni
Inconel 602CA also contains a certain amount of zirconium. It also plays a role in refining the grains.
602CA
Si
C
Al
Y
Fe
Cr
Ni
Purification
Zirconium also acts as a purifying agent. It combines with carbon and sulfur in alloys to form sulfides or sulfur carbides. This reduces the sulfur content and carbon content in the alloy, thereby increasing the purity of the alloy and further improving the durable and transient properties of the alloy.
Improve Precipitation Strengthening Effect
In precipitation strengthened alloys, the addition of zirconium can enhance the precipitation strengthening effect. It can not only increase the amount of precipitation strengthening phase, but also increase the dissolution temperature of the strengthening phase, allowing the alloy to maintain high strength at higher temperatures.
In addition, the combined effect of zirconium and boron into precipitation strengthened alloys can significantly improve the plasticity of the alloy. This greatly improves the alloy's versatility.
Control of Zirconium Content
Hastelloy B-3 resists stress corrosion cracking in chloride-containing solutions. Furthermore, it can withstand fluorinated media and concentrated sulfuric acid. Both media will cause damage to zirconium-containing alloys. So Hastelloy B-3 has strict controls on zirconium content.
B-3
Mn
Al
Ti
Co
V
W
Fe
Mo
Cr
Ni
Conclusion
Zirconium is a metallic element. In nickel alloys, it mainly plays the role of refining grains. In addition, it can also purify the alloy and improve the precipitation strengthening properties of the alloy. In Hastelloy B-3, the zirconium element is tightly controlled to improve the corrosion resistance of the alloy.
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