8/17/2019 Niobium - Charles Hatchett Award

1/1

HOME ABOUT CHARLES HATCHETT THE AWARD THE SPONSOR NIOBIUM KNOWLEDGE CENTRE CONTACT US

HOME»NIOBIUM

NIOBIUM

Element 41 was discovered in England in 1801 by Charles Hatchett, whocalled it columbium. The present name of the metal is due to Heinrich Rose,a German chemist who, when separating it from tantalum, identified it as anew element and named it after Niobe, the daughter of the mythologicalKing Tantalus.

The earliest information about the use of niobium dates to 1925 when it was used to replace

tungsten in tool steel production. At the beginning of the 1930s, niobium began to be used in

the prevention of intergranular corrosion in stainless steels.

Until the discovery of pyrochlore deposits at the beginning of the 1950s almost

simultaneously in Canada (Oka) and in Brazil (Araxá), the use of niobium was limited due to

limited known resources, once it was a sub-product of tantalum. With the primary production

of niobium, it became plentiful and an important element in the development of today's

engineering materials.

In the 1950s, with the start of the space race, there was a significant increase in interest in

niobium due to its characteristics as the lightest refractory metal. Niobium alloys such as Nb-

Ti, Nb-Zr, Nb-Ta-Zr were created for use in the aerospace and nuclear industries, and for

purposes involving superconductivity. Magnetic resonance imaging devices for medical

diagnosis use super conducting magnets made with NbTi alloy. Aeronautic superalloys also

use niobium. Of these, the most important is IN718, which was introduced in 1966. Since

then IN718 has been perfected and is currently used in the most modern aircraft and

stationary turbines. Niobium is the unique element that improves steel strength and

toughness simultaneously, allowing the concept of light design structures with higher safety.

Another important development, microalloyed steel, occured in the 1950s. Studies

undertaken in England at Sheffield University and British Steel and in the United States

turned the concept of microalloyed steel into an industrial reality when Great Lakes Steel

entered the market in 1958 with a series of steels containing nearly 400 grams of niobium

per ton and exhibiting characteristics (strength and toughness) that up until then were only

possible with much more expensive steel alloys.

The discovery that a tiny amount of niobium added to plain carbon steel significantlyimproved its properties led to the widespread use of the microalloy concept with major

economic benefits for structural engineering, transportation, oil and gas exploration and

carmaking.

Nowadays, microalloyed steels represent 75% of niobium consumption. They are

sophisticated products developed from physical metallurgical principles that reflect the

collaborative potential of research and development undertaken in industry and in university

laboratories.

Scientific understanding has been essential to element 41. Advances have extended

niobium's applications in steels, superalloys, intermetallic materials and Nb alloys, as well as

in composites, coatings, nanomaterials, optoelectronic devices and catalysts.

A significant part of the efforts related to niobium development is honored with the Charles

Hattchet Award, which is sponsored by CBMM.

© 2014 All rights reserved CBMM

Designed by Atticus Digital S ite Map Cook ies

sponsored by

The Award

Papers

http://www.charles-hatchett.com/knowledge-centre/documentshttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/knowledge-centre/documentshttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/knowledge-centre/documentshttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/knowledge-centre/documentshttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/awardhttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/awardhttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/awardhttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/awardhttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/sponsorhttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/niobiumhttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/knowledge-centrehttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/contacthttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/http://www.charles-hatchett.com/http://www.charles-hatchett.com/knowledge-centre/documentshttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/awardhttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/http://www.cbmm.com/us/p/108/home.aspxhttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/cookieshttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/sitemaphttp://www.atticusdigital.com/http://www.charles-hatchett.com/niobiumhttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/http://www.charles-hatchett.com/contacthttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/knowledge-centrehttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/niobiumhttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/sponsorhttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/awardhttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/abouthttp://www.charles-hatchett.com/home