No 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 o 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.

No abstract

Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) is an innovative net shape manufacturing technology that offers the ability to produce highly intricate components not possible through traditional wrought and cast procedures. Consequently, the aerospace industry is becoming ever more attentive in exploiting such technology for the fabrication of nickel-based superalloys in an attempt to drive further advancements within the holistic gas turbine. Given this, the requirement for the mechanical characterisation of such material is rising in parallel, with limitations in the availability of material processed restricting conventional mechanical testing; particularly with the abundance of process parameters to evaluate. As such, the Small Punch Creep (SPC) test method has been deemed an effective tool to rank the elevated temperature performance of alloys processed through ALM, credited to the small volumes of material utilised in each test and the ability to sample material from discrete locations. In this research, the SPC test will be used to assess the influence of a number of key process variables on the mechanical performance of Laser Powder Bed Fused (LPBF) Ni-based superalloy CM247LC. This will also include an investigation into the influence of build orientation and post-build treatment on creep performance, whilst considering the structural integrity of the different experimental builds.

For guidance on citations see FAQs.