Nickel alloys are distinguished by their excellent qualities of resistance to corrosion and to different forms of degradation at high temperature along with the possibility of obtaining mechanical properties comparable – and sometimes superior to those of steel. For these reasons, they are increasingly used where operating conditions are so severe as to preclude the use of more traditional materials such as stainless steels. In fact, it is significant to note that nickel-based superalloys are currently by far the most widely used materials for the manufacture of components operating at high temperature and subjected to significant mechanical stresses such as turbines in aircraft propulsion engines, power generation plants and, more generally, mechanical parts of high-performance engines.

Thus, this course aims to provide a detailed overview of nickel alloy metallurgy, related heat treatments, and processing and transformation technologies in order to master and manage the use of this family of metallic materials under the most appropriate conditions for various applications.