COPPER-NIOBIUM, COPPER-VANADIUM, OR COPPER-CHROMIUM NANOCOMPOSITES, AND THE USE THEREOF IN HEAT EXCHANGERS

摘要

We propose here a class of new materials for high heat-flux applications including high flux heat exchangers, rocket engines, jet engines, gas turbines, space-plane wings, and fusion reactors. The materials are nano-composites formed from copper and a refractory metal, especially niobium, vanadium, or chromium, but also potentially silver, iron, tantalum, tungsten, or molybdenum. The copper plus refractory mix is fast-melted, e.g. by arc melting, and then fast-cooled and worked. When cast the component metals separate into a fractile metal-metal composite that should have excellent heat-transfer qualities. Working the material makes it a lot stronger by extending the fractile structures into micron, and submicron (nano-scale) filaments and sheets of metal-metal composite. The resulting strong, high thermal-conductivity material should be excellent for demanding heat exchange applications, especially those where the heat flux is so high that ordinary materials of construction would suffer from thermal creep: that is from large forces generated internally by the differential expansion caused by the heat flux. Typical heat exchanger surfaces that might use this material might be tubes or indented flat plates.