Jet turbine engines have benefited from decades of development of nickel-based superalloys, which have allowed a steady increase in engine operating temperatures and led to improved performance and efficiency. However, operating temperatures are now reaching limits posed by the melting temperatures ( T m) of these materials. New materials, including alloys based on metals with higher melting points, such as molybdenum (Mo) and niobium (Nb) alloyed with silicon (Si), are now being seriously examined as alternatives by academic and industrial groups.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/326/5956/1068.full.pdf

The Hotter the Engine, the Better

Accident tolerant fuel cladding development: Promise, status, and challenges

Besides the excellent high-temperature mechanical properties, Si3N4 and SiC based ceramics containing insulating or electrically conductive phase are attractive for their tunable dielectric propert...

R. Naslain

Papers

Design, preparation and properties of non-oxide CMCs for application in engines and nuclear reactors: an overview