Precipitates formation and its impact in friction stir welded and post-heat-treated Inconel 718 alloy

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn order to investigate the formation of precipitates such as MC carbides and intermetallic compounds in the friction stir welded and post-heat-treated Inconel 718 alloy, this work was carried out. Furthermore, the microstructural and mechanical properties of welds and post-heat-treated material were evaluated to identify the effect on precipitates formed during post-heat-treatment. Friction stir welding (FSW) was performed at a rotation speed of 200 rpm and welding speed of 150 mm/min; heat treatment was performed after welding at 720 °C for 8 hours in vacuum. As a result, the grain size due to FSW was notably refined from 5–20 μm in the base material to 1–3 μm in the stir zone; this was accompanied by dynamic recrystallization, which resulted in enhancements in the mechanical properties as compared to the base material. In particular, applying heat treatment after FSW led to improvements in the mechanical properties of the welds—the microhardness and tensile strength increased by more than 50% and 40% in fraction, respectively, as compared to FSW alone.