FABRICATION OF NiAl INTERMETALLIC REACTORS FOR MICROTECHNOLOGY-BASED ENERGY CHEMICAL SYSTEMS (MECS)

摘要

Microtechnology-based Energy Chemical Systems (MECS) offer opportunities for portable power generation, on-site waste remediation, point-of-use chemical synthesis, and heat-transfer. The material requirements for this application include chemical inertness and the ability to be fabricated into structures that contain internal features of complex geometries and small (<250 μm) dimensions. It has been recognized that materials with limited formability, like ceramics and intermetallics, maybe required for high temperature applications. In this paper, a method for forming an array of internal microchannels in a NiAl device is presented. Microchannels are precision machined (via laser ablation) into elemental Ni and Al foils. During bonding, theses foils are converted into NiAl. Result show that this is a viable method for producing aluminide-based structures containing complex, internal features.