Materials technology for coal-fired power plants

The world now faces the critical challenge of providing abundant, cheap electricity to meet the needs of a growing global population, while at the same time, preserving the environment. Ultra supercritical, high efficiency coal-fired power plants could provide such electricity. This article discusses the development of materials that have higher strength at high temperatures. These include alloys for applications such as heavy-section piping, boiler tubing, and the motors, casings, bolting and blading required to build the steam turbines. 4 figs., 2 tabs.