What is a Superalloy?

Superalloys, also known as high-performance alloys are metals with properties of strength and intense durability. This includes aspects of temperature and environment, such as seawater corrosion or internal corrosion from acidic substances.

In this blog post you will find out how to select the best alloy for your intended use.

4 Steps To Selecting The Best Superalloy

1. Research

Research is a crucial stage in selecting the right alloy for an application. You should take time to browse the market of alloys that are available for the intended use.

Helpful documents and downloads on each alloy type can be found on Google , or you can use other sources such as our special metals page.

2. Weigh up the considerations

• Availability of the alloy or fitting/valve in the superalloy
• Pricing – This should include maintenance costs, installation and training if necessary
• Properties of the special alloy – *Forming a table that weighs up the Pros and Cons of each alloy will help you to determine which is best. Eg. To easily see where one type of alloy out-performs another on applications of high temperature.
• Intended use – Where will you be using the fitting or valve in the exotic metal material? Are issues of corrosion, temperature and atmosphere an issue?

3. Find a reputable supplier

Finding a reputable supplier (or manufacturer, especially for bespoke products) is our third step. This step takes you further towards the enquiry stages of a purchase but it is important to know what to look for when judging your options:

• Where is the company based?
• Location may be a key consideration for delivery depending on the urgency of your order.
• Do they have recognisable badges visible on their website?
• If you scroll down to the bottom of our website, you will see two badges for our LLoyds Approval and ISO approval. Beware of websites without any badges or visible accreditation.
• Have they supplied other reputable companies?
  • As an example, on our homepage you will see we have supplied the likes of Shell, BP and ConocoPhillips. It is important to determine the legitimacy of expertise when it comes to Superalloys. Accidents within industries such as Oil and Gas from faulty products or metals can be devastating.
• Certifications of materials – Can the company you wish to buy from provide certifications of material type?
• We provide PMI (Positive Material Identification) testing for all of our metals, including Hastelloy C276, Titanium, Stainless Steel and Incoloy.

4. Seek expert advice

To ensure you are selecting the right alloy, it is always a good practice to contact a professional for advice.

We advise these two options:

• A Metallurgist
• Qualified Engineer 

You can speak to a Qualified Engineer here at Waverley Brownall by contacting enquiries@waverleybrownall.co.uk

We have specialised in exotic metals such as Hastelloy, Inconel, Super Duplex and many more for over 40 years.