High temperature materials: properties, demands and applications

High-temperature materials are used in a wide range of industries and applications such as gas turbine engines for aircrafts, power and nuclear power plants, different types of furnaces, including blast furnaces, some fuel cells, industrial gas turbines, different types of reactors, engines, electronic and lighting devices, and many others. Demands for high-temperature materials are becoming more and more challenging every year. To perform efficiently, effectively and at the same time to be economically viable, the materials used at high temperatures must have certain characteristics that are particularly expected for applying under such extreme conditions, for example, the strength and thermal resistance. In the present review, some important requirements that should be satisfied by high temperature materials will be discussed. Furthermore, the focus is put on refractory concretes, ceramics, intermetallic alloys, and composites as four different categories of these materials, which are also considered in respect to possibilities to overcome some of the current challenges.