Aug 6 2013
Topics Covered
Introduction
Chemical Composition
Physical Properties
Mechanical Properties
Thermal Properties
Applications
Introduction
Lead bismuth alloys have significantly higher boiling points and act as excellent radiation shields. They do not readily react with air or water. These alloys do not exhibit age hardening and susceptibility to heat treatment throughout the range of limited solid solubility. However, fine wires of lead-bismuth alloys are susceptible to heat treatment, and they might exhibit effects comparable to those obtained for lead-antimony wires.
The following section will provide an overview of lead-bismuth alloy.
Chemical Composition
The chemical composition of lead-bismuth alloy is outlined in the following table.
|
Element |
Content (%) |
|
Bismuth, Bi |
55.5 |
|
Lead, Pb |
44.5 |
Physical Properties
The following table shows the physical properties of lead-bismuth alloy.
|
Properties |
Metric |
Imperial |
|
Density |
10.44 g/cm3 |
0.377 lb/in3 |
|
Melting point |
124°C |
255.2°F |
Mechanical Properties
The mechanical properties of lead-bismuth alloy are displayed in the following table.
|
Properties |
Metric |
Imperial |
|
Tensile strength |
44.1 MPa |
6396.16 psi |
|
Elongation at break |
≤37.5% |
≤37.5% |
|
Brinell hardness |
15 |
15 |
Thermal Properties
The thermal properties of lead-bismuth alloy are given in the following table
|
Properties |
Metric |
Imperial |
|
Thermal conductivity |
4 W/mK |
27.7 BTU.in/hrft².°F |
Applications
The following are the list of applications of lead-bismuth alloy:
-
Coolant in nuclear reactors
-
Hydrogen production
-
Spallation targets for non-fission neutron production.