Study on the metallurgical mechanisms of inclusions in the FGH4096 alloy during electron beam smelting

Abstract

In this study, the metallurgical mechanisms of inclusions during electron beam smelting (EBS) of a FGH4096 powder superalloy was investigated. The macroscopic morphology of the ingots, as well as the composition and structure of inclusions were studied. The effect of electron beam smelting parameters on the cooling rate, O/N content, number density and size of inclusions have been revealed. Besides, the mechanisms for inclusions removal and formation were elucidated. The results show that inclusions in the final solidification zone are mainly oxides (simple tetragonal CrO2, hexagonal Al2O3, and face-centered cube TiN), whereas the complex inclusions and carbon nitrides with Al2O3 and TiN as the nucleation cores are mainly present in the matrix. With the increase in smelting power and time, both the cooling rate and O/N content decsrease, and the smelting power shows a greater impact on the cooling rate. The number density of total inclusions increases with the increase in the smelting power. As the smelting time increases, the number density of total inclusions decreases, while the size of complex inclusions and carbon nitrides increases. This is attributed to the combined effect of cooling rate and O/N concentration in the alloy under different smelting parameters. Thermodynamic calculations indicate that Al2O3 forms in the solid-liquid phase region. The precipitation of TiN occurs when the alloy solidifies, and its precipitation temperature is higher than that of TiC. The lattice mismatch between Al2O3 and TiN is 8.14%, while that between TiC and TiN is 6.94%, which effectively promotes the heterogeneous nucleation of complex inclusions and carbon nitrides. The formation mechanisms of complex inclusions and carbon nitrides provide a theoretical basis for purification of superalloys by electron beam metallurgy.