Materials and electricity
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Materials and Electricity
R.I. JAFFEE
In addressing the topic of "Materials and Electricity" as part of the Materials and Society Lectureship, I first describe the relationship between electricity and society, and then the relationships between materials and electricity in terms of important contributions materials have made to the generation, delivery, and utilization of electricity. The consumption of electricity exhibits a close relationship to the gross national product. The fraction of total energy utilized in producing electricity has increased from 20 pct to 33 pct over the past 35 years. The intensity of electricity use in terms of energy per unit of GNP has been increasing steadily despite the fact that total energy intensity has been declining. Thus, the United States economy is becoming more electrified. After a steady decline up to 1970, the cost of electricity since has been increasing at a greater rate than inflation. Materials contributions can help control the increase in cost of electricity through improvements in reliability and efficiency of electricity generation, delivery, and use. Particularly useful in contributing to materials performance has been the development of clean steels produced by secondary refining techniques over the past fifteen years. An example is cited in reliability of electricity generation by the substitution of integral rotors made by forging or welding for shrunk-on nuclear L.P. rotors which are subject to stress corrosion cracking at the keyways that hold the discs to the rotor shaft. Several examples are cited of materials contributions to improved efficiency of electricity generation in fossil plants operating at higher steam temperatures and pressures. In transmission and distribution of electricity amorphous distribution transformer cores can save about three-quarters of the losses experienced with grain oriented silicon steel cores. This can save about 3 to 4 pct of total electricity that is transmitted to users. In utilization of electricity great savings in ac motor losses can be made through the use of silicon power semiconductor drives for variable speed operation. The prospects for replacement of expensive float zone silicon crystals by inexpensive Czochralski silicon are described. R. I. JAFFEE is Senior Technical Advisor for Materials at the Electric Power Research Institute, and is concerned with materials used for steam generation, steam and gas turbines, and electric generators. His current research interests include better steels for components of utility equipment, application of titanium in power generation, and materials for advanced pulverized coal power plants. Dr. Jaffee has been with EPRI for ten years, after having spent 32 years at Battelle's Columbus Laboratories. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of TMSAIME, ASM, and the Institution of Metallurgists. He presented the 1976 H.W. Gillette Memorial Lecture of ASTM and the 1977 Edward DeMille Campbell Lecture of ASM. He is an Honorary Member of ASM and holds the J
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