Scientific Underpinning for Design and Lifetime Prediction of Materials Exposed to High Temperatures and Reactivity Extremes

The 2011 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on High Temperature Corrosion marks the 70th anniversary of corrosion science as a GRC topic and will continue the tradition of stimulating, in-depth interactions that have historically served this field so well. However, despite this long history, no time has been more important for such scientific exchange than the present. Motivated by ever higher temperatures and pressures and more aggressive operating conditions, often driven by requirements to increase performance and/or energy efficiency and minimize environmental impact, researchers are confronted with a host of scientific obstacles to overcoming current materials performance limits. With respect to high temperature corrosion, these daunting scientific challenges must be addressed in order to gain the understanding needed to develop and specify materials for these application conditions and to accurately predict lifetimes associated with such. At the same time, recent advances in experimental and computational techniques, where length and time scales are converging, provide unprecedented opportunities to make progress in these areas.

The 2011 GRC on High Temperature Corrosion will thus focus on forefront scientific themes and approaches related to discovery and modeling of phenomena associated with the exposure of metallic and ceramic materials to extremes of temperature and reactivity in terms of phase, interfacial, and microstructural stability, reaction pathways in single- and multi-reactant systems, and fundamental coupling of mechanically and chemically driven processes that affect the growth and integrity of protective surface products. Invited presentations by scientists with expertise in these areas and in the application of advanced experimental and modeling approaches will cover emerging work that holds the potential for establishing the fundamental parameters that control high temperature corrosion and associated material lifetimes. These presentations will be supplemented by posters on more specific topics related to similar themes. Ample time will be provided for programmed discussions as well as informal information exchanges to stimulate ideas and deepen our collective knowledge about the most promising directions for high temperature corrosion science and materials protection.