Open Access

A γ-analogue of the superalloy CMSX-4 that does not contain the strengthening γ′ -phase and only consists of the γ-solid solution of nickel has been designed, solidified as single-crystals of different orientations, and tested under creep conditions in the temperature range between 1150 and 1288 °C. The tests have revealed a very high creep anisotropy of this alloy, as was previously found for CMSX-4 at supersolvus temperature of 1288 °C. This creep anisotropy could be explained by the dominance of 〈011〉{111} octahedral slip. Furthermore, the analysis of the creep data has yielded a high value of the creep activation energy, Qc≈442 kJ/mol, which correlates with the high activation energy of Re diffusion in Ni. This supports the hypothesis that dislocation motion in the γ-matrix of Re-containing superalloys is controlled by the diffusion of the Re atoms segregating at the dislocation core. The Norton stress exponent n is close to 5, which is a typical value for pure metals and their alloys. The absence of γ′ -reprecipitation after high-temperature creep tests facilitates microstructural investigations. It has been shown by EBSD that creep deformation results in an increasing misorientation of the existing low angle boundaries. In addition, according to TEM, new low angle boundaries appear due to reactions of the a/2 〈011〉 mobile dislocations and knitting of new networks.

The existing gap in the adequate prediction of the microstructure-property relationships remains a significant barrier to the safe application of the additively manufactured materials. This challenge is fundamentally tied to the intricate microstructural defects that emerge during the processing. Systematic microstructure-based modelling can offer solutions to address this bottleneck. In this work, we utilize a crystal plasticity model, developed for gamma''-strengthened Ni-base alloys and calibrated with single crystal tensile and creep tests of Inconel 718. By systematically refining the representative volume element complexity---from equiaxed to elongated grain morphologies, and from unimodal to bimodal orientation and grain size distributions---we demonstrate how each layer of structural realism contributes to the model’s predictive capacity. Creep tests of laser-based powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) manufactured samples in three orientations (with the tensile axis parallel, perpendicular, and 45° tilted relative to the building direction) were performed at 650° C, accompanied by electron backscatter secondary diffraction measurements. The results of our simulations reveal that the bimodal grain morphology and crystallographical texture significantly influence the observed creep anisotropy. We show that the elongated grain structure combined with grain boundary sliding plays a major role in the creep response, specifically in tilted specimens.

Data about the creep behaviour of metals and their alloys at temperatures close to the melting point are very limited. The reason is that most engineering alloys are used at temperatures below 0.6-0.8 of their melting point, so, Investigation of creep at higher temperatures has no practical relevance. For some special applications however it is important, in our case hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of single-crystal turbine blades cast from nickel-base superalloys. In order to remove porosity the blades are HlPed at temperatures between y'-solvus and solidus where superalloy has no strengthening y'-phase and therefore is very soft. For example, the Company Howmet Castings HIPs the superalloy CMSX-4 at the temperature 1288aC, which corresponds to a homologous temperature of about 0.97=1561 K/1612 K (solidus temperature). Therefore knowledge about the creep behaviour of CMSX-4 at this temperature and understanding of the creep mechanisms are necessary to model the kinetics of pore closure during HIP as well as to plan the Parameters of the HIP process.

High-temperature alloys, when used in structural applications, undergo slow time-dependent deformation known as creep. Assessing creep behavior is critical for estimating the in-service life of these alloys. Conventionally, uniaxial creep tests are widely conducted at elevated temperatures to determine creep rates. In recent years, bending creep of cantilevers, when combined with digital image correlation (DIC), has emerged as a promising high-throughput technique for rapidly estimating creep life. However, the applicability of bending creep above 700 ◦C for high-temperature alloys using DIC has not been fully established. In this work, we compare uniaxial creep rates of the nickel-based superalloy IN738LC with bending creep rates measured at 850 ◦C using high-temperature DIC. The bending creep data show excellent agreement with uniaxial creep results in the stress range of 240–360 MPa. The measured creep xponent, a critical rate-determining parameter, is found to be ~8 for both uniaxial and bending creep, with the rate data scattered within a factor of two. An in-house experimental setup was developed to perform bending creep tests at high temperatures, with strain monitored through DIC. Our results demonstrate that bending creep, combined with DIC, provides a reliable and efficient method for creep testing of high-temperature alloys. Compared to conventional uniaxial creep experiments, this approach requires significantly less time and material, thereby reducing effort, energy, and cost. We anticipate that this technique will serve as a foundation for testing precious high-temperature materials. For instance, in ongoing rapid discoveries of advanced alloys, in-service creep life can be evaluated much faster with reduced material requirements. Moreover, this method holds strong potential for application to high-entropy alloys and additively manufactured alloys designed for demanding high-temperature environments.