Advanced microcharacterization of nickel-base superalloys

The purpose of this project was to characterize the microstructural and microchemical effects of a process revision on HAYNES{reg{underscore}sign} 242{trademark}, a polycrystalline Ni-base superalloy used principally for high temperature applications, such as seal and containment rings in gas turbine engines. The process revision from the current one-step heat treating cycle to a two-step heat treatment would result in savings of energy and ultimately cost to the consumer. However, the proposed process revision could give rise to unforeseen microstructural modifications, such as a change in the size distribution of the ordered particles responsible for alloy strength or the formation of additional phases, which could affect alloy properties and hence performance. Advanced microcharacterization methods that allow images of the microstructure to be acquired at length scales from one micrometer down to the atomic level were used to reveal the effect of the process revision on alloy microstructure. Energy filtered imaging was used to characterize the size distribution and morphology of ordered precipitates and other phases, as well as the partitioning behavior of major elements (Ni, Mo, Cr) among these phases. The compositions of individual ordered particles, including fine-scale compositional variations at precipitate-matrix interfaces, and solute segregation behavior at grain boundaries were characterized at the atomic level by atom probe tomography. The atomic site distributions of selected elements in the ordered precipitates were characterized by atom-location by channeling-enhanced microanalysis (ALCHEMI). The results of these advanced microcharacterization methods were correlated with mechanical testing of similar alloys to address structure-property relationships