Abstract
Nickel based superalloys have been utilised within numerous industrial sectors from power generation to chemical processing plants for over four decades as a result of their ability to retain mechanical properties at arduous temperatures alongside excellent oxidation and corrosion resistance. Within the aerospace industry, they have been primarily used within regions of the gas turbine engine where metal temperatures can often exceed 1000°C and high temperature deformation mechanics are prominent. Although typically manufactured using traditional wrought and casting methodologies, the aerospace industry has become increasingly interested in the use of Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) as a means of fabrication to take advantage of the numerous benefits that ALM has to offer. Detailed characterisation of the structural integrity of components processed via additive processes is a key requirement of the understanding. In this paper, the small punch creep (SPC) test has been applied to samples of a high gamma prime containing nickel-based superalloy manufactured using the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process. Several different builds are investigated and ranked, with ALM builds provided in different epitaxial orientations and with contrasting process parameters to help determine the optimal process parameters.
Highlights
Nickel based superalloys display an impressive range of mechanical properties from high temperature strength and toughness to excellent oxidation/corrosion resistance
Parameter selection is a vital staple within Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) which influences microstructure and the presence, frequency and type of material discontinuities present
Mechanical property assessment utilising small punch creep (SPC) testing was used in order to determine whether low, medium or high energy densities are optimal for creep performance
Summary
Nickel based superalloys display an impressive range of mechanical properties from high temperature strength and toughness to excellent oxidation/corrosion resistance. This leads to numerous advantageous characteristics and capabilities such as the formation of components with highly complex and intricate design geometries [6]. Given the small volume of material required, the aerospace industry has begun to incorporate the use of SPT for the assessment and characterisation of advanced materials such as additively manufactured components, where traditional methodologies such as uniaxial testing may not be possible given design geometries [7]. The adverse effect of various material discontinuities on mechanical properties will be compared and evaluated
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