Scope of research and development work on substitute alloys at the National Metallurgical Laboratory

Stress on the development of substitute alloys is normally stepped up in the wake of war emergencies even though such formulation and growth of substitute family of alloys do form long range development themes in research programming in most centres. In the case of India, with chronic foreign exchange shortages in the midst of ambitious consecutive Five Year Plans, the need for import substitutions as short term measures and development of substitute alloys in the long range research short term measures and development of substitute alloys in the long range research effort call for sustained work on the subject and on which the National Metallurgical Laboratory has been engaged almost since its inception. Some major research and applied themes on substitute alloys and alloy steels at the National Metallurgical Laboratory have related to the development of substitute austenitic stainless steels, nickel and cobalt free electrical resistance alloys, nickel and copper -free coinage alloys, manganese bearing brasses, indigenous tool and die steels, iron-aluminium alloys, aluminium based substitute alloys for the production of diverse ranges of end products to exacting specifications and practical needs etc. and substitute processing techniques, such as hot dip aluminising of steel and related surface treatments. The scope of substitution presents a vast spectrum, fascinating and challenging covering fundamental studies, applied technological themes and production economics of potential substitution. The results of such pioneering investigations at the National Metallurgical Laboratory have been well rewarding and present interesting industrial potentialities, placing high premium on research ingenuity and applied technology, creating in its wake fresh unconventional and analytical studies on the metallurgy of substitute ferrous and non-ferrous alloys and their contingent growth. NO(Dr. B.R. Nijhawan, Director, National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur)