Quantifying the economic and commercial potential of a high strength, low thermal coefficient super-alloy

Inspired by the importance of having a favourable sheathing material for superconducting wires, a high-strength, low thermal coefficient (CTE) super-alloy has been developed. Known as Incoloy 908, this super-alloy's material properties have been extensively studied, and various mechanical, thermal, magnetic, and elastic properties of it have been researched for many years. In the pursuit of broader applications for this superior alloy, this project seeks to identify the most profitable and realistic applications where the fundamental advantages of this technology, due to its unique combination of properties relative to competitors, can create value and be commercialised. This work seeks to quantify the potential value of Incoloy-908 to the market, and on this basis, explore business strategies in which the value of the technology could be realised. The quantitative values assigned to the selected application as a saw blade in saw mills is optimistic in the perspective of the saw mill owner. However, business strategies to realise the potential value through start-up companies are challenging with long investment horizons. Recommendations for future work include developing a more refined estimate of the production costs, and exploring alternative business plans in the context of adopting the technology as an existing manufacturer.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Liew, Heng Lee Henry

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Ronald G. Ballinger.

• Materials Science and Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/45387

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/45387