Patent ID: 7704335

Claim:
A refractory composition, comprising: about 9 atom % to about 25 atom % silicon; about 5 atom % to about 25 atom % titanium; about 1 atom % to about 30 atom % rhenium; about 1 atom % to about 25 atom % chromium; about 1 atom % to about 20 atom % aluminum; up to about 20 atom % hafnium; up to about 30 atom % ruthenium; up to about 30 atom % of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tantalum, and molybdenum; balance niobium; and wherein the refractory composition is characterized by a microstructure comprising a metallic Nb-base phase and at least one metal silicide phase of the formula M 3 Si or M 5 Si 3 , wherein M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Nb, Hf, Ti, Mo, Ta, W, a platinum group metal, and combinations thereof.