Effect of cooling rate during quenching on the microstructure and creep property of nickel-based superalloy FGH96

The effect of cooling rate during quenching on the microstructure and creep property of nickel-based superalloy FGH96 was investigated. Three groups of samples were quenched continuously with three fixed cooling rates, respectively, then subjected to a creep test under a constant load of 690 MPa at 700℃. Clear differences in size of secondary γ′ precipitates, creep properties and substructure of creep-tested samples were observed. The quantitative relationship among cooling rate, the size of secondary γ′ precipitates, and steady creep rate was constructed. It was found that with increasing cooling rate, the size of secondary γ′ precipitates decreases gradually, showing that the relationship between the size of secondary γ′ precipitates and the cooling rate obeys a power law, with an exponent of about –0.6, and the creep rate of steady state follows a good parabola relationship with cooling γ′ precipitate size. For 235℃/min, FGH96 alloy exhibited very small steady creep rate. The density of dislocation was low, and the isolated stacking fault was the dominant deformation mechanism. With decreasing cooling rates, the density of dislocation increased remarkably, and deformation microtwinning was the dominant deformation process. Detailed mechanisms for different cooling rate were discussed.     

Deformation and damage features of a Re/Ru-containing single crystal nickel base superalloy during creep at elevated temperature

The deformation and damage features of a 4.5%Re/3.0%Ru-containing single crystal nickel-based superalloy during the creep in the temperature range of 1040–1070 °C and stress range of 137–180 MPa was investigated by means of creep properties measurement and contrast analysis of dislocation configuration. The results showed that the alloy exhibited a better creep resistance in the range of the testing temperatures and stresses, the deformation mechanism of the alloy during steady state creep was dislocations climbing over the rafted γ′ phase.In the latter period of creep, the deformation mechanism of the alloy was dislocations shearing into the rafted γ′phase. It is believed that the dislocations shearing into γ′ phase may cross-slip from {111} to {100} planes for forming the K-W locks to restrain the slipping and cross-slipping of dislocations on {111} plane. As the creep goes on, the alternate slipping of dislocations results in the twisted of the rafted γ′ phase to promote the initiation and propagation of cracks along the γ/γ′ interfaces up to creep fracture, which is considered to be the damage and fracture feature of alloy during creep at high temperature.     

Deformation and damage behaviors of as-cast TiAl-Nb alloy during creep

By means of creep properties measurement and microstructure observation,the deformation and damage behavior of an as-cast TiAl-Nb alloy during creep at temperature near 750°C were investigated.The results showed that the microstructure of the alloy consisted of lamellarγ/α_2 phase,and the boundaries consisted ofγphase located in between lamellarγ/α_2 phases with different orientations.In the latter stage of creep,the dislocation networks appeared in the interfaces of lamellarγ/α_2 phases due to the coarsening of them,which made the coherent interface transforming into the semi-coherent one for reducing its adhesive strength.The deformation mechanism of the alloy during creep was twinning and dislocations slipping within lamellarγ/α_2 phases.In the later period of creep,significant amount of dislocations plied up in the interfaces of lamellarγ/α_2 phases,which may cause the stress concentration to promote the initiation and propagation of the cracks along the lamellarγ/α_2interfaces perpendicular to the stress axis.Wherein,some cracks on the various cross-sections were connected by tearing edge along the direction of maximum shear stress,up to the creep fracture,which is considered to be the damage and fracture mechanism of alloy during creep at 750°C.     

High temperature creep mechanisms of a single crystal superalloy: A phasefield simulation and microstructure characterization

The high temperature creep behavior of a single crystal Ni-based superalloy was studied by combined experimental and numerical methods. The creep test results showed that the creep curves exhibited a three-stage feature. The qualitative explanations for each stage of the creep curves were carried out based on the microstructure characterizations of γ/γ′ phases and dislocations. An elastoplasticity incorporated phase-field model was developed to provide quantitative understanding on directional coarsening(rafting) of γ′ phase. The simulation results showed that the directionality of γ′ coarsening was induced by both dislocation activity in γchannels and elastic inhomogeneity between γ and γ' phases, therein the dislocation activity played a major role.This findings provide new insights into the design of novel single crystal superalloys with improved creep properties.     

Effects of temperature and stress on the creep behavior of a Ni3Al base single crystal alloy

The creep behavior and microstructure of a Ni3Al base single crystal alloy IC6SX with [001] orientation under the testing conditions of 760 ℃/593 MPa, 980 ℃/205 MPa, and 1100 ℃/75 MPa were investigated. The experimental results showed that Alloy IC6SX had good creep resistance and its creep resistance at elevated temperatures was similar to the second generation nickel-base single crystal alloy containing Re. TEM analysis indicated that the dislocation configuration and movement pattern were different under different temperature and stress conditions. It has been found that under the test condition of 1070 ℃/137 MPa the dislocations moved within the γ channel during the primary creep stage, and the motion of dislocations were prevented by the matrix of γ′ phase, which reduced the creep rate of the alloy. In the secondary creep stage, dislocations cut into the γ′ phase from the γ/γ′ interface. However in the third creep stage, the dislocation pileups were observed in both γ and γ′ phase, and dislocation multiplication occurred when the dislocations with different Burgers vector met and reacted each other.     

Microstructure heterogeneity and creep damage of DZ125 nickel-based superalloy

The creep behavior of the DZ125 superalloy at high temperatures has been investigated based on the creep properties measurement and microstructure observations. The experimental results show that, after full heat treatment, the fine and coarser cuboidal γ0precipitates distributed in the dendrite arm and inter-dendrite regions, respectively, the boundaries with various configurations located in the inter-dendrite regions. In the primary creep stage, the cuboidal γ0phase in the alloy transformed into the rafted structure along the direction vertical to the stress axis.The dislocations slipping and climbing over the rafted γ0phase are attributed the deformation mechanism of the alloy during steady-state creep.The(1/2)?1 1 0? dislocations slipping in the γ matrix and ?1 1 0? super-dislocations shearing into the γ0phase are the deformation mechanisms of the alloy in the latter stage of creep. And then the alternate slipping of dislocations results in the initiation and propagation of the micro-cracks along the boundaries until the occurrence of the creep fracture. Since the grain boundaries with various angles relative to the stress axis distribute in the different regions, the initiation and propagation of micro-cracks along the boundaries display the various features.& 2014 Chinese Materials Research Society. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.     

Effect of solution cooling rate on the γ′ precipitation behaviors of a Ni-base P/M superalloy

The effect of cooling rate on the cooling γ' precipitation behaviors was investigated in a Ni-base powder/metallurgy (P/M) superalloy (FGH4096). The empirical equations were established between the cooling rate and the average sizes of secondary and tertiary γ' precipitates within grains and tertiary γ' precipitates at grain boundaries, as well as the apparent width of grain boundaries. The results show that the average sizes of secondary or tertiary γ' precipitates are inversely correlated with the cooling rate. The shape of secondary γ' precipitates within grains changes from butterfly-like to spherical with the increase of cooling rate, but all the tertiaryγ' precipitates formed are spherical in shape. It is also found that tertiary γ' may be precipitated in the latter part of the cooling cycle only if the cooling rate is not faster than 4.3℃/s, and the apparent width of grain boundaries decreases linearly with the increase of cooling rate.     

Low cycle fatigue properties and microstructure evolution at 760℃ of a single crystal superalloy

Low cycle fatigue(LCF) behavior of a single crystal superalloy was investigated at 760 ℃. Microstructure evolution and fracture mechanism were studied by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM), respectively. The results show that the fatigue data fluctuation was small and the fatigue parameters of the alloy had been determined. On increasing the cyclic number, the alloy initially showed slight cyclic softening at the early two or three cycles and slowly hardened to some extent afterwards, then kept stable for the most of the remaining fatigue life. The LCF of the alloy at 760 ℃ can be attributed to the main elastic damage in fatigue processing. The initiation site of fatigue crack was at or near the surface of the samples. Crack propagated perpendicularly to the loading direction at first and then along {111}octahedral slip planes. The fatigue fracture mechanism was quasi-cleavage fracture. The γ'phase morphology still maintained cubic shape after fracture. There were a number of slip bands shear the γ'precipitates and γ matrix near the fracture surface of the specimen. The inhomogeneous deformation microstructure was developed by dislocation motion of cross-slip and a limited γ'precipitate shearing by slip band, stacking faults or single dislocation was observed.     

Effect of trace boron on microstructural evolution and high temperature creep performance in Re-contianing single crystal superalloys

The effect of trace B on the microstructure and creep properties under 1100 °C/130 MPa in three single crystal superalloys with various levels of B(0, 0.01 and 0.02 wt %) additions was investigated. Compared with the boron-free alloy, the creep rupture life decreased slightly for the alloy with 0.01 wt % B, but dropped obviously for the 0.02 wt% B contained alloy. The low B addition had a slight effect on the main element compositions ofγ/γ′ by the high precision atom probe tomography(APT) analysis and no significant change of γ/γ′ misfit was observed. However, the contents of Re, Mo, Cr in γ phase were decreased with the high B addition, resulting in the decrease of γ/γ′ misfit and increase of the spacing of γ/γ′ interfacial dislocation networks. Meanwhile, the residual(γ+γ′) eutectics and borides with a large volume fraction obviously decreased the creep rupture properties in the high B addition alloy. This study is helpful for understanding the boron's role of strengthening mechanism in high temperature creep of Ni-base single crystal superalloys.     

Microstructure Evolution of Semi-solid Processed Hyper-eutectic Al-30%Si Alloy

An investigation was made on the influences of mechanical stirring on microstructure of hyper-eutectic Al-30%Si alloy (in mass fraction) during solidification. The primary Si crystals formed in the alloy melt were gradually changed from elongated platelets to near-spherical shapes by mechanical stirring. The spheroidization of primary St crystals occurs by the mechanism of bending and fracture of Si platelets, wear and collision between Si crystals, and coalescence of small Si particles. The influence of under-cooling and cooling rate of the alloy melt on primary Si crystals of semi-solid processed alloys is investigated as well. The increase of under-cooling and cooling rate decreases the size of primary Si crystals.     

A set of microstructure-based constitutive equations in hot forming of a titanium alloy

A physical model of microstructure evolution including dislocation density rate and grain growth rate was established based on the deformation mechanism for the hot forming of a class of two-phase titanium alloys. Further,a set of mechanism-based constitu-tive equations were proposed,in which the microstructure variables such as grain size and dislocation density were taken as internal state variables for characterizing the current material state. In the set of constitutive equations,the contributions of different mecha-nisms and individual phase to the deformation behavior were analyzed. The present equations have been applied to describe a correla-tion of the flow stress with the microstructure evolution of the TC6 alloy in hot forming.     

Effects of solidifi cation cooling rate on the corrosion resistance of Mg – Zn–Ca alloy

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of solidification cooling rate on the corrosion resistance of an Mg–Zn–Ca alloy developed for biomedical applications. A wedge shaped copper mould was used to obtain different solidification cooling rates. Electrochemical and immersion tests were employed to measure the corrosion resistance of Mg–Zn–Ca alloy. It was found that increasing cooling rate resulted in a significant improvement in the corrosion resistance of the Mg–Zn–Ca alloy. The findings were explained in terms of solidification behaviour in association with the change in solubility of the alloying elements, microstructural homogeneity and refinement and chemical homogeneity as well as the increased cooling rates.     

Investigation on the homogenization treatment and element segregation on the microstructure of a γ/γ'-cobalt-based superalloy

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of element segregation on the microstructure and γ' phase in a γ/γ' cobalt-based superalloy. Several samples were prepared from a cast alloy and homogenized at 1300℃ for different times, with a maximum of 24 h. A microstructural study of the cast alloy using wavelength-dispersive spectroscopic analysis revealed that elements such as Al, Ti, and Ni segregated mostly within interdendritic regions, whereas W atoms were segregated within dendrite cores. With an increase in homogenization time, segregation decreased and the initial dendritic structure was eliminated. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that the γ' phases in the cores and interdendritic regions of the as-cast alloy were 392 and 124 nm, respectively. The size difference of γ' was found to be due to the different segregation behaviors of constituent elements during solidification. After homogenization, particularly after 16 h, segregation decreased; thus, the size, chemical composition, and hardness of the precipitated γ' phase was mostly uniform throughout the samples.     

Microscopic phase-field simulation of the coarsening behavior of coherent precipitates in Ni-Al alloys

On the basis of the microscopic phase-field dynamic model and the microelasticity theory, the characteristics of the coarsening behavior of γ' phase in Ni-Al alloys have been systematically studied in a certain volume fraction of the precipitates. It was found that the initial irregular shape, randomly distributed γ' phase, gradually transformed into cuboidal shape, regularly aligned along the [100] and [010] directions, and a highly preferential selected microstructure was formed during the later stage of precipitation. The volume fraction of the precipitates produced some effects on the precipitate morphology but did not produce an obvious effect on the regularities of precipitate distribution. The coarsening rate constant from the cubic growth law decreased as a function of volume fraction for small volume fractions, remained constant for intermediate volume fractions, and increased as a function of volume fraction for large volume fractions. During the coherent coarsening process, four "splitting" patterns between γ' phases, which belonged to different antiphase domains, were produced via particle aggregation, such as an L-shaped pattern, a doublet, a triplet, and a quartet.     

Dislocation Densites of Deformed Steel Sheets Based on Positron Annihilation

The variation regularity of dislocation densites of some deformed steel sheets under three kinds of strain paths as uniaxial tension, plane strain and equal biaxial stretching was investigated by means of positron lifetime spectrum and Doppler-broadening techniques. The results show that the increasing rate of dislocation densites is related to the plastic strain path. A relationship between the increasing rate of micro-defects, macro-instability and forming limits during the process of steel sheet forming was got based on analyzing the mechanism of dislocation density increasing under different stress-strain condihons.     

Weldability and liquation cracking behavior of ZhS6U superalloy during electron-beam welding

The weldability of the ZhS6U nickel-based superalloy, which is prone to solidification cracking during electron-beam welding(EBW) repair processes, was investigated. The effects of two different pre-weld heat-treatment cycles on the final microstructure before and after welding were examined. Welds were made on flat coupons using an EBW machine, and the two heat-treatment cycles were designed to reduce γ′ liquation before welding. Microstructural features were also examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the change in the morphology and size of the γ′ precipitates in the pre-weld heat-treatment cycles changed the ability of the superalloy to release the tensile stresses caused by the matrix phase cooling after EBW. The high hardness in the welded coupons subjected to the first heat-treatment cycle resulted in greater resistance to stress release by the base alloy, and the concentration of stress in the base metal caused liquation cracks in the heat-affected zone and solidification cracks in the weld area.     

Microscopic characterization of semi-solid aluminium alloys

The microstructural evolution and element distribution of the Al-4Cu-Mg alloy during semi-solid compression were investigated, and the precipitate behavior and dislocation morphology were discussed. The experimental results show that the microstructure, the number of CuAl₂ (θ phase) precipitates, and the dislocation density of the Al-4Cu-Mg alloy depend apparently on the process parameters. More segregation of Cu at the grain boundary happens with an increase of deformation temperature and a decrease of strain rate, leading to an increase in the number of θ phase. With an increase of height reduction, Cu segregation at the grain boundary decreases gradually. Moreover, unique dislocation morphologies including helical dislocations and dislocation loops appear at different process parameters and evolve to reduce the stored energy.     

Microscopic phase-field simulation including elastic strain energy for early precipitation process of Ni-Al alloys with medium Al content

The early precipitation process of Ni-Al alloy was studied on the atomic scale based on the microscopic phase-field kinetic model. We investigated the effect of elastic strain energy on precipitation mechanism and morphological evolution of the alloy. Simulation results show that at the early stage of precipitation, γ′ ordered phase presents non-directional and irregular shape during the process of aging, the γ′ ordered phases change into the quadrate shape and their orientations become more obvious; at the later stage, the γ′ precipitates present quadrate shape with round corner and align along the [ 100 ] and [ 010 ] directions. The mechanism of early precipitation for Ni-13at. % Al alloy is the mixed mechanism of non-classical nucleation growth and spinodal decomposition and near to non-classical nucleation growth, and the mechanism of early precipitation for Ni-15.8at. % Al alloy is the mixed mechanism of non-classical nucleation growth and spinodal decomposition and near to spinodal decomposition.     

Hot compressive deformation behaviors of Mg–10Gd–3Y–0.5Zr alloy

In this paper, the hot compressive deformation characteristics of a Mg–10Gd–3Y–0.5Zr(GW103K) alloy have been investigated by isothermal compression test at the temperature range of 350–450°C and strain rate range of 0.0001–0.1s~(-1). True stress–strain relationships at various strain rates showed the typical strain hardening and softening stage which is indicative of dynamic recrystallization during deformation. The results showed that the peak stress was obviously dependent on temperature and strain rate. A constitutive equation to describe the deformation process was established based on the hyperbolic sine function. The stress exponent n and apparent activation energy Q were determined to be 3.018 and 203.947 k J/mol, respectively. Microstructure investigation showed that dislocation slipping was the dominant deformation mechanism during the hot deformation at all conditions. However, at the temperatures lower than 400 °C and strain rates higher than 0.01 s~(-1), twinning was observed to be activated, which indicated another deformation mechanism. Dynamic recrystallization and dynamic precipitation were found to occur simultaneously under such deformation condition.     

Strain localization and damage development in 2060 alloy during bending

The microstructure evolution and damage development of the third-generation Al–Li alloy 2060 (T8) were studied using in situ bending tests. Specimens were loaded with a series of punches of different radii, and the microstructure evolution was studied by scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and digital image correlation (DIC) methods. The evolution of the microscopic fracture strain distribution and microstructure in 2060 alloy during bending was characterized, where the dispersion distribution of precipitates was recorded by backscattered electron imaging and later inputted into a DIC system for strain calculations. The experimental results showed that strain localization in the free surface of bent specimens induced damage to the microstructure. The region of crack initiation lies on the free surface with maximum strain, and the shear crack propagates along the macro-shear band in the early stages of bending. Crack propagation in the later stages was interpreted on the basis of the conventional mechanism of ductile fracture.