presently , u - 0 . 8ti is the major uranium alloy used by the u . s . department of defense for high strength applications . lowering the titanium concentration and adding niobium results in an improved alloy with superior hardenability and ductility . the alloy is made by comelting derby ( or virgin material ) uranium , ti in the form of ti sponge , and nb in the form of u - 6nb wt % master alloy , in a vacuum - induction furnace to a temperature of about 1375 ° c . this is formed into billets and gamma solution heat treated at 800 ° c for 5 hours and water quenched . two samples of the alloy were prepared from 18 kg of u , 80 - 95 g of ti , and 49 . 0 - 68 . 5 g of nb . the uranium was co - melted with the u - 6nb and ti sponge in a yttrium coated graphite crucible . the ti sponge was placed on the bottom of the crucible to ensure adequate mixing with the u and u - 6nb alloy . a pt / pt - 1orh thermocouple was used to determine the temperature of the metal in the crucible . the metal was heated to 1375 ° c , held for 20 minutes and then bottom poured into a yttria coated graphite mold . both billets were 2 . 0 inches thick , 5 inches wide and 5 inches long . both billets were gamma solution heat treated at 800 ° c for 5 hours and water quenched . chemical analysis indicted that both billets had a composition in wt % of 99 . 3 u . 0 . 4 ti , 0 . 3 nb . physical tests indicated that the billets had an average tensile yield strength of 106 ksi (± 4 %), and an average reduction in area ( ra ) of 33 % (± 6 %). the billet used to obtain hardness data indicated a hardness level of 68 rockwell a ( ra ) at the quenched end and a hardness of 71 ra at the centerline of 2 . 0 inch thick casting . metallographic analyses indicated that the martensite present at a depth of 0 . 5 inch was 95 - 100 % and at a depth of 1 . 0 inch was 80 - 90 %. this compares with 10 % martensite present at 1 . 0 inch for the previous alloy , u - 0 . 8ti . in a demonstration of the subject development , three billets of the u0 . 5ti - 0 . 1nb ternary alloy were prepared . two were prepared from 18 . 5 kg u , 95 g of ti and 19 . 6 g of nb . one billet was prepared from 18 . 1 kg of u , 93 g of ti and 19 . 1 g of nb . all of these u - ti - nb alloy billets were prepared as set forth in example i . chemical analysis indicated that the billets had a composition in wt % of 99 . 3 u , 0 . 5 ti , and 0 . 1 nb . a 18 . 5 kg billet was used for jominy end quench specimens was as cast . prior to end quenching , the jominy bar was gamma solution heat treated at 800 ° c for 2 hours . physical test indicated that the tensile billet had an average tensile strength of 108 ksi (± 8 ksi ), an elongation of 23 % (± 14 %) and a reduction in area of 30 % (± 6 %). the billet to be used for the jominy hardness determinations had a thickness of 1 . 5 inches , a width of 5 inches and a length of 7 inches . the jominy bar was gamma solution heat treated at 800 ° c . for 2 hours and water quenched from one end . the hardness from the jominy end quench bar indicated a hardness level of 64 . 7 ra at the quenched end and a hardness of 68 . 7 ra at 1 . 0 inch and 66 . 8 at 2 . 0 inches . the hardness data from the 2 . 0 inch thick slab cut from one of the 19 . 1 kg billets indicated a hardness level of 67 ra at the quenched end and a hardness of 70 ra at the centerline of the 2 . 0 inch thick casting . metallographic analyses of the jominy bar indicated that the martensite present at a depth of 0 . 5 inch was 90 - 100 %, a depth of 1 . 0 inch was 90 - 100 %, at a depth of 1 . 5 inch was 40 - 50 % and at a depth of 2 . 0 inch was 5 - 10 %. metallographic analyses at the center of the 2 . 0 inch thick billet indicated that the martensite present at a depth of 0 . 5 inch from the quenched surface was 90 - 100 % and at a depth of 1 . 0 inch was 80 - 90 %. in order to determine the approximate content ranges for the alloying elements ti and nb , additional experiments were evaluated and are described below . in one experiment two billets were prepared . one billet had a thickness of 2 . 0 inches , a width of 5 inches and a length of 5 . 0 inches . the billet was prepared from 18 . 1 kg of u , 95 g of ti and 49 . 2 g of nb by the procedure described examples i and ii . chemical analyses indicated that the billet contained , in wt %, 99 . 2 u , 0 . 5 ti and 0 . 25 nb . physical tests indicated that the billet had an average tensile yield strength of 81 . 4 ksi (± 8 . 4 ksi ), with an average elongation of 13 . 1 % (± 4 . 1 %) and an average % ra of 7 . 4 (± 1 . 7 ). in the second billet of this experiment , the billet had a thickness of 1 . 5 inches , a width of 5 inches and a length of 7 . 0 inches . this billet was prepared from 18 . ikg of u , 95 g of ti and 49 . 3 g of nb by the procedure of the examples . chemical analyses indicated that the billet contained in wt %, 99 . 2 u , 0 . 5 ti and 0 . 25 nb . a jominy specimen was machined from this billet , gamma solution heat treated at 800 ° c for 2 hours and end quenched . the hardness measurements from the jominy end quench bar indicated that the martensite present at a depth of 0 . 5 inch from the quenched end was 70 - 90 %, at 1 . 0 inch was 10 - 25 %, at 1 . 5 inch was 5 - 10 % and at 2 inches was 0 - 5 %. in another experiment , a billet was prepared from 17 . 7 kg of u , 46 . 3 g of ti and 47 . 8 g of nb by the procedure of the examples . the billet was 1 . 5 inches thick , 5 inches wide and 7 inches long . chemical analyses indicated that the billet contained in wt %, 99 . 5 u , 0 . 21 ti and 0 . 24 nb . the hardness measurements from the jominy end were 59 . 8ra at the quenched end , 62 . 1 ra at 1 inch and 62 . 7 at 2 inches . metallographic analyses indicated martensite present at a depth of 0 . 5 inch from the quenched end was 10 - 20 %, at 1 . 0 inch was 5 - 10 %, at 1 . 5 inch was 0 - 5 % and at 2 inches was 0 %. although hardness is usually a useful indicator of the relative tensile properties , it does not yield any straight forward information regarding the relative ranking of alloys with respect to their quench rate sensitivity . therefore , the alloys which indicate the higher depths of larger amounts of martensite yield the best relative quench rate sensitivity . the data from the chemical analyses , physical tests and metallographic analyses of the billets prepared in the two experiments indicate that the preferred content range of the alloy are in wt % 99 . 2 to 99 . 3 u ., 0 . 4 to 0 . 5 ti ; and 0 . 1 to 0 . 3 nb . the least quench rate sensitive alloys are associated with high ti and low nb or low ti and high nb combinations . unlike steels , in which martensite is aged to temper back , or lower , yield strength and increase ductility , in uranium alloys aging martensite structures results in higher yield strengths and slightly reduced ductility . therefore aging the claimed alloy will increase the yield strength beyond that attained in the gamma solution heat treated and water quenched ( gamma / wq ) condition . since the ductility of the subject alloy is in the range of 25 to 30 %, even a 50 % reduction in the ductility would not be significant upon aging . in addition , since physical properties are uniform over at least a 2 . 0 inch thick section in the gamma / wq condition in the subject alloy , the increase in strength due to aging is expected to be uniform . the alloy indicates martensitic microstructure contents of 80 to 100 % the homogeneity of this microstructure is what results in the uniformity of the physical properties reported . the u - 0 . 8ti alloy cannot achieve the homogeneous martensitic structure throughout such thick cross sections since it is approximately twice as quench sensitive as the claimed alloys . the advantages of these alloys over prior alloys is in their inherent strength . they can be used in the defense industry as well as for radiation shielding , containment vessels for medical and industrial isotopes , and for other applications requiring a uranium alloy having high strength , excellent ductility and hardenability .