RESEARCH
Metal Powders Give Lead Strength
10 microns Lead with 18% cobalt powder added gives this view at 250 v r magnification
10 microns When 3 0 % nickel p o w d e r is added, the lead alloy has this microstructure
And 3 0 % copper adcled looks like this, All show some xjarticle agglomeration
Battelle comes up with high temperature lead-cemenfed alloys,·
uniform dispersion key to strength
OTJRENGTH, corrosion resistance, com binations of properties—these are some of the advantages that someday may b e tailored into specific alloys based on lead. Such alloys fall into a new class of materials—lead-cemented alloys—de veloped for the Lead Industries Asso ciation by Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio. The. n e w materials are not actually true alloys; they are made by mixing metal powders with molten lead. T h e result is a material stronger than lead, having properties of both lead and the added metal. So far, Battelle has only worked with certain metals. Any ma terial, however, that is wet by lead (or one that can be coated with a material wet by lead) can be put into such a mixture, according to Battelle metallur gist Dean N. Williams. By selecting proper alloying mate rials, Williams says, three different types of alloys can be made with these advantages: • Added strength. 50
C&EN
AUS.
These alloys are 10,
1959
stronger and can be used at much higher temperatures than lead alone. Lead alloy piping with threaded con nections is a possibility here. • Combination of properties. Alloys of boron and le
