What would you make...

out of THIS stuff?  I'm thinking exhaust valves, cylinder heads...?

"Well, for starters, it’s a 3D-printable material, so it can be molded and shaped into pretty much any component. Furthermore, it’s said to be a high-temperature material which is more durable and lightweight than existing alloys used in airplane and spacecraft parts.  These parts can reach temperatures in excess of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit–a fifth of the temperature of the surface of the sun.

As a result, when compared to other nickel-base alloys, NASA says that GRX-810 can endure higher stress and temperatures, and can last a whopping 2,500 times longer. Even better still, it’s up to four times better at flexing before breaking, and twice as resistant to damage from oxidation."

My inner materials engineer had to know more than the smooth brains at MSN could regurgitate. Link to more information from NASA themselves. It seems they've figured out how to coat superalloy particles (NiCoCr) in a Yttrium Oxide layer at outperforms Titanium Carbides across the whole temperature scale up to 1450°C and then fuse it all together with lasers.

Edit: I don't think most automotive engineers would even have a use for this material it seems extremely specialized to ultra high heat applications like rocket nozzles.

Exhaust valves and maybe turbo components? Maaaybe pistons? Yeah there aren't a lot of things on a car that could benefit from this material.

Probably everything from the exhaust port out.

Headers, turbo housings (Koenigsegg 3D prints theirs), heat shielding, etc.

Inconel can be 3D printed into headers, but according to the NASA slide it's stronger than that. Hope that makes Inconel cheaper.

What are its properties with respect to galling, wear resistance, etc?

A lot of materials that can stand up to high temperatures are awful for galling.  Not great for any parts that may wear against other parts whether by accident or by design.

On the other hand, I heard a story about a 2 stroke engine made with a piston made of Maraging (300?) that you could run lean until the piston actually seized in the bore, but the piston would be fine after it cooled off.  Amongst other ways in which it was awesome.

RacetruckRon said:

My inner materials engineer had to know more than the smooth brains at MSN could regurgitate. Link to more information from NASA themselves. It seems they've figured out how to coat superalloy particles (NiCoCr) in a Yttrium Oxide layer at outperforms Titanium Carbides across the whole temperature scale up to 1450°C and then fuse it all together with lasers.

Edit: I don't think most automotive engineers would even have a use for this material it seems extremely specialized to ultra high heat applications like rocket nozzles.

Sounds like a good way to set up a lean burn engine?

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Lean burning engines is fairly easy.  Lean burning engines with clean exhaust is hard.

Temperatures go down once you are lean of stoich enough, as long as you can get reliable combustion, which is the tricky part, the getting from here to there.

(Rotaries laugh at lean fuel mixtures, the iron rotors don't seize and the high mixture motion that hurts efficiency helps ignition, to a degree)

I can make a hat, or a flower, or...

So I found THIS article today.  Are they talking about the same stuff?

Seems like it is tailored for additive (3D printing. There is a lot of industry focus on that now. Interesting how the story is spin that only 4 places can make it. That's the business I am in. I know all of those places. They are all capable but there are dozens of places that could also make it.

RacetruckRon said:

Edit: I don't think most automotive engineers would even have a use for this material it seems extremely specialized to ultra high heat applications like rocket nozzles.

Maybe they lack imagination.

Depending on so many other properties, combustors or high pressure turbine blades and vanes in jet engines.