Knowledge Base > Technology

Materials

In harsh nuclear environments, the materials of the components are key factors for longevity and durability. There are three main materials used in the production of our products and tools. Those materials are aluminum, stainless-steel, and plastic. There are many advantages to using one material over the other. For instance, if weight becomes an issue where lighter is desired, depending on the application aluminum or stainless-steel has been used. However, if a heavier weight is desired for the application nickel-plated steel has been used for weight-bearing crawlers. Although, not used frequently lead has been used in the design of some crawlers to shield cameras.

Aluminum 6000 series (magnesium and silicon alloy)

The 6000 series aluminum alloys have medium to high strength, and good corrosion resistance properties. This particular alloy family is also widely used in marine environments due to its good corrosion resistance properties. The 6000 series aluminum alloy is also easy to weld and are more prominently used for extrusion processes due to their good extrude-ability and ability to be heat treated.

Stainless Steel

Stainless-steel is similar to Aluminum by which it is available in different grades based upon the metallurgical properties. Stainless-steel can be broken down into five subcategories: 

1. Austenitic - 300 series; low magnetism, corrosion resistance, and easy to form. Can be hardened by cold working but not so by heat treating.
2. Ferritic - 400 series - iron chromium alloys; strong ductility, magnetic, and corrosion resistance. Can be hardened by cold working but not so by heat treating or other thermal methods.
3. Martensitic - 400 series - iron chromium alloys; similar characteristics as ferritic stainless steels.
4. Duplex - combines the metallurgical properties of austentic and ferritic stainless steels, stronger than austentic alloys usually with nickel present in the metallurgy composition.
5. Precipitation-hardened - very similar to martensitic alloys but strength and corrosion resistance improved dramatically due to the precipitation hardening process.

Polymers (plastic)

Polymers are abundantly available because it is a by-product of the high volume oil industry.

Polymers are classified based upon "mers, which are the repeating structural unit in the polymer chain.  Mers are the major industrial polymer materials which can further be categorized into subgroups: 

1. Thermoplastics - weak bonds, can be thermally heated to form and recyclable.
2. Thermosets - stronger bonds cannot be thermally heated to re-form; suffers from chemical degradation.
3. Elastomers - soft pliable polymers.
4. Thermoplastic elastomers - injection-moldable polymers.
5. Polymer blends - known as alloys, a mixture of various polymer chains.
6. Synthetic polymer substances
7. Modified natural polymer substances
8. Homopolymer - all mers in chain are the same.
9. Copolymer - more than one mer in chain.