The proposed furnace will be located in Professor Dan Thoma’s laboratory at UW–Madison and will be accessible to researchers working on high-temperature materials development. It will be used primarily for heat treating refractory materials, including tungsten alloys, at temperatures exceeding 1800°C. These materials are being developed for clean energy applications, including Department of Energy–funded projects such as those supported by ARPA-E. The furnace will enable the heat treatment of refractory alloys containing lower melting temperature elements such as Ti, Cr, and V, which can improve the performance of refractory alloys but require homogeneous microstructures. This equipment will support both new and ongoing research programs in energy materials, reduce reliance on external collaborators, and expand processing capabilities at UW–Madison.
