The role of energy in the modern world goes beyond mere technology and economics to influence welfare, environment, life quality and, broadly, civilisation. Since the industrial revolution, energy conversion technology has been at the forefront of innovation required to satisfy the needs of mankind. This technology more than others has always been very dependent on the performance of the materials used; especially over the last two decades during which efficiency and environmental concerns have become challenging objectives. In this context the European Commission has developed significant collaborative programmes in Europe within the COST framework, to enhance the state of the art in this technology. The Li ge Conferences pursue the mission to report on the achievements of these programmes in the light of progress made elsewhere. The first four conferences in this series were held in 1978, 1982, 1986 and 1990, and provided the opportunity to present and review the work of the European Materials Collaborative Programmes COST-50 (gas turbines), COST-505 (steam turbines) and COST- 501 (energy conversion from fossil fuels). The proceedings of these conferences were published by Applied Science Publishers (1978) and by D. ReideIlKluwer Publishing Company (1982, 1986 and 1990). While the first two Conferences have dealt essentially with high temperature alloys for gas turbines (COST 50), the third and fourth Conferences held in 1986 and 1990 were concerned with a broader range of topics, including the work of the third round of COST-50 (1972-1983), that of COST-50l, which was initiated in 1981 and COST 505 (1983-1990).

The European Collaborative Programme on Materials for Gas Turbines known as COST-50 was initiated in 1971 and has been supported since then by the Commission of European Communities. The achievements made during the first phase of COST-50 were reviewed at the Conference held in Liege, September 25-27, 1978 and published by Applied Science Publishers Ltd. Nine European Countries : Austria, Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the Joint Research Center of the Community, agreed to continue their participation in COST-50 and the results of the second phase were presented at the Conference held in Liege, October 4-6, 1982 under the following headings : - Corrosion and Coatings - Fatigue, Creep and Structural Stability - Processing The technical sessions consisted of invited papers reviewing recent progress in the development of high temperature alloys with particular emphasis on the results of the European Collaborative Programme. Furthermore, some areas were reviewed by eminent speakers from the United States of America, due to their expertise in their respective fields. In this context and as a tradition introduced in 1978, the keynote lecture "Superalloys technology : today and tomorrow" was del ivered by Dr. F. L. Versnyder. The Conference was completed with a significant Poster Session comprising about fifty contributions from Europe and elsewhere. This book comprises a total of fifty four contributions representing almost all of the papers delivered at the technical sessions and a large part of the presentations made at the Poster Session.

Proceedings of a Conference held in Liege, Belgium, September 24-27, 1990

Proceedings of a Conference held in Liege, Belgium, October 6-9, 1986"

The European Collaborative Programme on Materials for Gas Turbines known as COST-50 was initiated in 1971 and has been supported since then by the Commission of European Communities. The achievements made during the first phase of COST-50 were reviewed at the Conference held in Liege, September 25-27, 1978 and published by Applied Science Publishers Ltd. Nine European Countries : Austria, Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the Joint Research Center of the Community, agreed to continue their participation in COST-50 and the results of the second phase were presented at the Conference held in Liege, October 4-6, 1982 under the following headings : - Corrosion and Coatings - Fatigue, Creep and Structural Stability - Processing The technical sessions consisted of invited papers reviewing recent progress in the development of high temperature alloys with particular emphasis on the results of the European Collaborative Programme. Furthermore, some areas were reviewed by eminent speakers from the United States of America, due to their expertise in their respective fields. In this context and as a tradition introduced in 1978, the keynote lecture "Superalloys technology : today and tomorrow" was del ivered by Dr. F. L. Versnyder. The Conference was completed with a significant Poster Session comprising about fifty contributions from Europe and elsewhere. This book comprises a total of fifty four contributions representing almost all of the papers delivered at the technical sessions and a large part of the presentations made at the Poster Session.