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Unlike conventional alloys, which typically consist of one main element, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) contain five or more principal elements, which broaden chemical complexity and with it a realm of synergistic mechanisms. The AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr HEA initiated a subclass of Al-containing refractory (r)HEAs that has recently drawn attention [2]. The alloy has a superalloy-resembling B2/bcc nanostructure, which inspired its name refractory high entropy superalloy (RSA). With high-temperature (HT) compressive strengths beyond conventional Ni-based superalloys, this nanostructure could be used for improved HT structural applications. However, in the application-relevant HT regime the Al-Zr-rich B2 phase decomposes to form a hexagonal Al-Zr-based intermetallic (Al4-xZr5; x: 0..1) [3,4]. This work explores the fascinating yet fatal micromechanisms associated to this phase transformation, in the context of creep, annealing and oxidation experiments performed between 800 and 1200 °C.
The material was produced by arc-melting and heat treatment in argon, which lead to grain boundaries decorated with up to 7%. Interrupted constant-load creep tests were performed under vacuum (at 10-4 Pa), at 900–1100 °C with external tensile stresses of 30–120 MPa. Oxidation experiments were separately conducted for 24 hours at 800 and 1000 °C in both dry (21% O2 + 79% N2) and humid (8% O2 + 74% N2 + 18% H2O) air. After the experiments, the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy to reveal degradation mechanisms. Crystallographic texture, orientation relationships and stabilization of an oxygen-containing iso structure (Al4-xZr5(Ox-y); y: 0..x) of the Al-Zr-rich intermetallic are found and discussed.
Fatigue tests were performed on the forged aluminum alloy EN AW-2618A in the T61 state. Different stress ratios (R = -1, R = 0.1) were selected to study the influence of mean stress on fatigue life. Two overaged states (10 h/230 ◦C, 1000 h/230 ◦C) were also tested to investigate the influence of overaging on fatigue life. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to characterize the precipitates (S-phase), which are mainly responsible for the strength of the alloy. A fractographic analysis was also performed to determine the failure mode. Overaging reduces the fatigue life compared to the T61 state. The longer the aging time, the lower the fatigue resistance. The reason is the decrease in (yield) strength, which correlates with the radius of the S-phase: the precipitate radius increases by a factor of approximately two for the overaged states compared to the initial state. The analysis of the fracture surfaces showed crack initiation occurs predominantly on the outer surface and is
associated with the primary phases.
The damage mechanisms of metallic components produced by process laser powder bed fusion differ significantly from those typically observed in conventionally manufactured variants of the same alloy. This is due to the unique microstructures of additively manufactured materials. Herein, the focus is on the study of the evolution of creep damage in stainless steel 316L specimens produced by laser powder bed fusion. X-ray computed tomography is used to unravel the influence of the process-specific microstructure from the influence of the initial void distribution on creep damage mechanisms. The void distribution of two specimens tested at 600 °C and 650 °C is analyzed before a creep test, after an interruption, and after fracture. The results indicate that the formation of damage is not connected to the initial void distribution. Instead, damage accumulation at grain boundaries resulting from intergranular cracking is observed.
Many microstructural features exhibit non-trivial geometries, which can only be derived to a limited extent from two-dimensional images. E.g., graphite arrangements in lamellar gray cast iron have complex geometries, and the same is true for additively manufactured materials and three-dimensional conductive path structures. Some can be visualized using tomographic methods, but some cannot be due to weak contrast and/or lack of resolution when analyzing macroscopic objects. Classic metallography can help but must be expanded to the third dimension. The method of reconstructing three-dimensional structures from serial metallographic sections surely is not new. However, the effort required to manually assemble many individual sections into image stacks is very high and stands in the way of frequent application. For this reason, an automated, robot-supported 3D metallography system is being developed at BAM, which carries out the steps of repeated preparation and image acquisition on polished specimen.
Preparation includes grinding, polishing and optionally etching of the polished surface. Image acquisition comprises autofocused light microscopic imaging at several magnification levels. The image stacks obtained are then pre-processed, segmented, and converted into 3D models, which in the result appear like microtomographic models, but with high resolution at large volume. Contrasting by classical chemical etching reveals structures that cannot be resolved using tomographic methods. The integration of further imaging and measuring methods into this system is underway. Some examples will be discussed in the presentation.
Inconel 718 (IN718) is a traditional age-hardenable nickel-based alloy that has been increasingly processed by additive manufacturing (AM) in recent years. In the as-solidified condition, IN718 exhibits chemical segregation and the undesired Laves phase, requiring a solution annealing (SA) prior to aging. The material produced by AM does not respond to the established thermal routines in the same way as conventionally produced IN718, and there is still no consensus on which routine yields optimal results. This work aims to provide a fundamental understanding of the heat treatment (HT) response by continuously monitoring the microstructural evolution during SA via time-resolved synchrotron x-ray diffraction, complemented by ex-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The samples were produced by laser powder bed fusion to a geometry of 10x20x90 mm³, from which Ø1x5 mm³ cylindric specimens were extracted. Two different scanning strategies – incremental 67° rotations, Rot, and alternating 0°/67° tracks, Alt – were used, leading to two different as-built conditions. 1-hour SAs were carried out in the beamline ID22 of the ESRF at 50 KeV. Two SA temperatures, SA1 = 1020 °C, and SA2 = 1080 °C were tested for each scanning strategy. Data were processed using the software PDIndexer. In the as-built state, all samples showed typical subgrain columnar cell structures with predominant Nb/Mo segregation and Laves phase at the cell walls, as seen by SEM. The Alt scan induced higher intensity on the Laves peaks than the Rot scan, suggesting a greater content of Laves. Chemical homogenization in the SA was largely achieved during the heating ramp (Fig. 1). SA2 eliminated the Laves peaks just before reaching 1080 °C, and mitigated differences between Rot and Alt samples. On the other hand, SA1 induced the precipitation of the generally detrimental δ phase, also observed by SEM. Furthermore, the Rot scan showed higher δ peak intensities than the Alt scan, indicating a higher content of δ in the latter. No signs of recrystallization were observed in any of the investigated SAs.
The damage mechanisms of metallic components produced by process laser powder bed fusion differ significantly from those typically observed in conventionally manufactured variants of the same alloy. This is due to the unique microstructures of additively manufactured materials. Herein, the focus is on the study of the evolution of creep damage in stainless steel 316L specimens produced by laser powder bed fusion. X-ray computed tomography is used to unravel the influence of the process-specific microstructure from the influence of the initial void distribution on creep damage mechanisms. The void distribution of two specimens tested at 600 °C and 650 °C is analyzed before a creep test, after an interruption, and after fracture. The results indicate that the formation of damage is not connected to the initial void distribution. Instead, damage accumulation at grain boundaries resulting from intergranular cracking is observed.
This work investigates the effect of the tribotesting parameters (temperature, atmosphere, and third body chemical composition) on the coefficient of friction (CoF) during pin-on-disc dry (PoD) sliding tribotests using artificial third bodies. The third body comprised nanometric Fe3O4-based binary to quaternary chemical compositions containing copper, graphite, and zirconia. These mixtures were manually or ball-milled prepared, and pin-on-disc tribotests were conducted at 23 °C and 400 °C under air or nitrogen atmospheres. Combining PoD and artificial third body to create synthetic tribofilms might be useful for testing new formulations of Cu-free friction materials. Microstructural characterisation of the tribofilms was used to study the stability of the Fe3O4, copper, and graphite nanoparticles under different testing conditions to understand their effects on the CoF. For the Fe3O4-C-ZrO2-X systems, the ball milling mixing promoted the formation of turbostratic graphite in the tribofilm, impairing the lubricating effect of the graphite under air atmosphere at 23 °C. The formation of monoclinic CuO in the tribofilms during tribotests at 400 °C under air and N2 atmospheres promoted a lubricating effect.
Detailed microstructural characterization of the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr refractory high entropy superalloy in the as-cast state is reported for first time and compared with the state annealed at 1400 oC for 24 h. The former shows a dendritic structure, with a mixture of A2/B2 phases < 20 nm in both the dendritic and interdendritic regions. A mostly amorphous phase, rich in Al and Zr, is found within the interdendritic region. The annealed state reproduced the combination of A2/B2/Al-Zr-rich phases reported previously. Calculations from two relevant ThermoCalc databases were compared with the experimental results. Equilibrium calculations were compared with results for the annealed alloy, whereas solidification paths calculated using Scheil-Gulliver model were used for comparison with the as-cast alloy. A previously hypothesized spinodal decomposition during cooling as the mechanism responsible for the patterned A2/B2 microstructure is confirmed via the CALPHAD calculations, pointing to its use as an efficient design tool for such alloys. Finally, the comparison between the experimental and computational findings allowed better understanding the solidification path and equilibrium stability of this alloy, giving a base to make better decisions on the field of new refractory superalloy design.
High‐temperature corrosion was studied under multiple chemical loads on ferritic‐austenitic model alloys (Fe–13Cr, Fe–18Cr–12Ni, and Fe‐25Cr–20Ni) with KCl deposit under 0.5% SO2/99.5% Ar gas atmosphere at 560°C. Postexposure characterization was done by X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. In a pure SO2/Ar environment a protective Cr2O3 scale was formed by all samples. The introduction of KCl deposits causes the scale to be nonprotective and multilayered, consisting of CrS, FeS, Cr2O3, Fe3O4, and Fe2O3. The impact of the microstructure and alloying elements is discussed.
The field of materials science is defined as “the study of the properties of solid materials and how those properties are determined by a material’s composition and structure.”. Many –if not most– of the materials that are produced nowadays owe their properties to structures engineered down to the nanoscopic level. This need has been partly realized thanks to the understanding of materials’ building blocks via characterization techniques that reach this level of resolution. Transmission electron microscopy, since its first implementation in the early 1930s (in Berlin), has been implemented to achieve imaging –and spectral– analysis at lateral resolutions down to the atomic level.
In this contribution, a series of practical examples will be presented, where applied materials are characterized by a range of transmission electron microscopy techniques to understand structural and functional properties of a wide range of materials. Among these materials examples will be presented on structural conventionally and additively manufactured metallic alloys, high entropy alloys, dissimilar aluminum-to-steel welds, magnetic nanoparticles, ceramic coatings, high temperature oxidation products. Addressed will be either the effect of processing route or that of the exposure to experimental conditions similar to those found in the respective intended applications.
Laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) of metallic alloys is a layer wise additive manufacturing process which provides significant scope for more efficient designs of components, benefiting performance and weight, leading to efficiency improvements for various sectors of industry. However, to benefit from these design freedoms, knowledge of the high produced induced residual stress and mechanical property anisotropy associated with the unique microstructures is critical. X-ray and neutron diffraction are considered the benchmark for non-destructive characterization of surface and bulk internal residual stress. The latter, characterized by the high penetration power in most engineering alloys, allows for the use of diffraction angle close to 90° enabling a near cubic sampling volume to be specified. However, the complex microstructures of columnar growth with inherent crystallographic texture typically produced during PBF-LB/M of metallics present significant challenges to the assumptions typically required for time efficient determination of residual stress. These challenges include the selection of an appropriate set of diffraction elastic constants and a representative strain-free reference for the material of interest. In this presentation advancements in the field of diffraction-based residual stress analysis of L-PBF Inconel 718 will be presented. The choice of an appropriate set of diffraction-elastic constants depending on the underlying microstructure will be described.
Due to its matrix/γ′ structure, the compositionally complex alloy (CCA) Al10Co25Cr8Fe15Ni36Ti6 has excellent properties that fulfill the requirements for a high-temperature material. This base alloy is alloyed with small amounts of high melting elements to a further improvement of its properties, which results in different shapes, fractions and sizes of the two phases γ′ and Heusler after various homogenization and annealing steps. By correlating this microstructure with time independent and dependent mechanical properties, conclusions can be drawn about the effects of the individual phases. The needle-shaped Heusler-phase leads to bad mechanical behavior if its phase fraction is too high. A fraction below 3 vol% is not critical in tensile tests, but it reduces the creep resistance compared to a purely two-phase matrix/γ′-alloy. Sharp-edged cubic γ′-particles and a coarse Heusler-phase without sharp edges in case of the base alloy with 0.5 at.% hafnium lead to the best tensile and creep properties in the high temperature range. At 750 °C, the Hf-containing alloy clearly outperforms two commercially used alloys in the targeted area of application when it comes to creep resistance.
The development of refractory CCAs has been explored for potential use in high temperature applications. An example of this is the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr alloy, which resembles the well-known γ/γ’ microstructure in Ni-Base superalloys with cuboidal particles embedded in a continuous matrix. The aim of this work is to evaluate the alloy’s mechanical behavior under tension in the temperature range 800-1000°C, by applying creep tests under vacuum (excluding oxidation effects). Some little temperature influence on minimum creep rate @ 1000 and 1100 °C was found and at a first glance, and Norton plots shows that deformation is probably both diffusion and dislocation controlled. However, further work is needed to stablish deformation and degradation micro mechanisms in the studied creep regime.
Damage tolerance counts as one of the most widespread approach to fatigue assessment and surely as one of the most promising in understanding the process-structure-property-performance relationships in additively manufactured metallic materials. Manufacturing defects, surface roughness, microstructural features, short and long crack fatigue propagation, residual stresses and applied loads can be taken into consideration in a fracture mechanics-based fatigue assessment. Many aspects are crucial to the reliable component life prediction. Among those a prominent role is played by an accurate measurement and modelling of the short crack fatigue behavior, and reliable statistical characterization of defects and residual stresses.
This work aims at addressing the issues related to both experimental testing, fatigue and fatigue crack propagation, and fracture mechanics-based modelling of fatigue lives. Examples will be provided on an additively manufactured AISI 316 L.
A set of some unexpected and interesting microstructures has put the so-called complex concentrated alloys (CCAs) in the eye of the scientific community. The AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr refractory (r)CCA, aimed at substituting Ni-base superalloys in gas turbine applications, belongs to this alloy family. After a two-stage heat treatment, this rCCA morphologically resembles the typical a two-phase microstructure of the latter. The objective of this work consists in determining the effect of the two stages of the heat treatment on the microstructure of the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr alloy to eventually improve it in terms of homogeneity and porosity.
Creep and fracture behavior of conventionally and additively manufactured stainless steel 316L
(2020)
A critical task within the frame of establishing process-structure-property-performance relationships in additive manufacturing (AM) of metals is producing reliable and well-documented material behavior’s data and knowledge regarding the structure-property correlation, including the role of defects. After all, it represents the basis for developing more targeted process optimizations and more reliable predictions of performance in the future. Within this context, this contribution aims to close the actual gap of limited historical data and knowledge concerning the creep behavior of the widely used austenitic stainless steel 316L, manufactured by Laser-Powder-Bed-Fusion (L-PBF). To address this objective, specimens from conventional hot-rolled and AM material were tested under application-relevant conditions according to existing standards for conventional material, and microstructurally characterized before and after failure. The test specimens were machined from single blocks from the AM material. The blocks were manufactured using a standard scan and build-up strategy and were subsequently heat-treated. The creep behavior is described and comparatively assessed based on the creep lifetime and selected creep curves and characteristic values. The effect of defects and microstructure on the material’s behavior is analyzed based on destructive and non-destructive evaluations on selected specimens. The AM material shows shorter creep lives, reaches the secondary creep stage much faster and at a lower strain, and features lower creep ductility compared to its conventional counterpart. The creep damage behavior of the AM material is more microstructure than defect controlled and is characterized by the formation and accumulation of single intergranular damage along the whole volume. Critical features identified are the grain morphology and the grain-boundary as well as the dislocation’s density. Micro-computed tomography (µCT) proves to be an alternative to metallography to analyze the creep damage.
The current trend towards cyclic, “flexible” operation of fossil-fueled power plants constitutes a major issue regarding lifetime and operational safety of the respective installations and their components, as was outlined in our complementary contribution (Part 1). The present contribution reports on the investigation of the microstructure evolution in cyclically loaded ferritic-martensitic steels and its representation in a physically-based micromechanical model.
For this purpose, specimens of P92 steel grade from the mechanical test programme outlined in our companion contribution (Part 1) were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), including backscattered diffraction (EBSD) mapping, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A novel method was implemented to improve angular resolution of EBSD scans. Additionally, a correlative microscopy approach was developed and used to correlate EBSD and TEM measurements on the same locations of thick regions of electron transparent specimens. By applying these techniques, a detailed quantitative microstructure description of the as-received material condition, namely in terms of subgrain morphology and dislocation density/distributions, was established. Comparisons of as-received and cyclically loaded conditions from tests interrupted at different stages of lifetime indicate a rapid redistribution of in-grain dislocations with a strong interaction between mobile dislocations and low angle grain boundaries (LABs).
The proposed micromechanical model is formulated in a viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) scheme, which is a mean-field approach that allows us to include the crystal details at the level of slip systems while avoiding the considerable computational costs of full-field approaches (such as the classical crystal plasticity finite element analysis). Being physically-based, the model uses dislocation densities and includes the interaction between dislocations, e.g. annihilation of mobile dislocations, and evolution of microstructure, e.g. the grain coarsening. Particularly, the constitutive laws for dislocation evolution and interaction between dislocations and low angle boundaries are calibrated based on two-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamic (2D DDD) simulations, which are performed at a micro-/meso-scale. The results of the beforementioned EBSD experiments are considered as a direct input, involving e.g. the amount of geometrically necessary dislocations, average misorientations and grain characteristics.
Chromia forming high alloyed ferritic-austenitic steels are being used as boiler tube materials in biomass and coal-biomass co-fired power plants. Despite thermodynamic and kinetic boundary conditions, microstructural features such as grain orientation, grain sizes or surface deformation contribute to the oxidation resistance and formation of protective chromium-rich oxide layers. This study elucidates the impact of microstructure such as the grain size and number of carbide precipitates on high temperature oxidation at 650°C in 0.5% SO2 atmosphere. Cold-rolled Fe-16Cr-0.2C material was heat-treated to obtain two additional microstructures. After exposure to hot and reactive gases for 10 h < t < 1000 h layer thicknesses and microstructure of oxide scales are observed by scanning electron microscopy and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The two heat treated alloys showed reasonable oxidation resistance after 1000 h of exposure. The oxidation rate was substantially higher for the alloy with a duplex matrix after heat treatment compared to the fine-grained material.
This study examines the relationship between the magnetic mesostructure with the microstructure of low carbon steel tungsten inert gas welds. Optical microscopy revealed variation in the microstructure of the parent material, in the heat affected and fusion zones, correlating with distinctive changes in the local magnetic stray fields measured with high spatial resolution giant magneto resistance sensors. In the vicinity of the heat affected zone high residual stresses were found using neutron diffraction.
Notably, the gradients of von Mises stress and triaxial magnetic stray field modulus follow the same tendency transverse to the weld. In contrast, micro-X-ray fluorescence characterization indicated that local changes in element composition had no independent effect on magnetic stray fields.
Ni-base superalloy single crystals have been used in turbine blades for hot sections of gas turbines for over four decades. In order to increase the efficiency of the turbines, a continuous increase in the inlet temperature of combustion gases into the turbine has driven the design of turbine blades to complicated shapes and the presence of a complex pattern of cooling channels. These three-dimensional shapes, together with the inhomogeneous distribution of stresses along the blade, induce an also complicated triaxial stress state, which does not compare to uniaxial tests that are performed to characterize high temperature properties such as creep. A round notch on a test piece represents a simple configuration that generates a quasi-isostatic stress state across the notch. In the present contribution, the effect of a sharp round notch on the microstructural micromechanisms within the notched region cylindrical bars, loaded along [001] at 1020 °C and 160 MPa net stress, is studied. To this end, a series of interrupted creep tests is conducted on plain and notched bars and the microstructure is compared. Results are discussed in terms of degree microstructural coarsening, and dislocation activity. The effect of notch generation via grinding is also discussed in these terms. The presence of carbides evolving in from residual carbon is also shown and discussed. .Funding by the German Research Association (DFG) [grant number AG 191/1] is acknowledge