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The polycrystalline nickel-base superalloys RR1000 and Udimet 720Li (U720Li) were developed for turbine disc applications. These alloys contain a higher volume fraction of the ordered γ' phase (close to 50%) when compared to previous generation alloys (~ 25%) in order to ensure that they retain high strength at operating temperatures exceeding 700°C. The increased percentage of precipitates in the material leads to higher levels of constraint between matrix and the precipitates, and this will have consequences for the deformation mechanisms of the aggregate. It is therefore important to understand how the increased volume fraction of precipitates affects the deformation behaviour of the material. This is not only crucial for the design of the optimum microstructure, but also for lifing models, which predict the lifetime of a component. It is the aim of the present work to improve the understanding of the deformation behaviour of these alloys by focussing on the influence of the γ' precipitate size. These alloys usually comprise a complex trimodal γ' size distribution, which complicates studies on the dependence of the deformation behaviour on the precipitate size. Hence, simplified model microstructures were generated here with a unimodal γ' size distribution. The model microstructures were subjected to in-situ loading experiments with neutron diffraction at temperatures of 20°C, 500°C and 750°C. Neutron diffraction measurements during loading revealed the elastic lattice strain response of both the γ and the γ' phases, which can indicate changes in their respective deformation behaviour. These measurements showed a load transfer from γ to γ' for some test conditions, which indicated that γ was able to deform with noticeably less deformation in the γ' phase. With a larger γ' precipitate size and/or higher test temperature, the tendency for load transfer increased. A post-mortem analysis of the deformed microstructures using advanced electron microscopy techniques (EBSD, ECCI, TEM) showed that shearing of the γ' precipitates dominated the deformed microstructures at 20°C and 500°C and was also observed after deformation at 750°C. Deformation was less localised in the microstructures with large γ' precipitates, which might be correlated with the increased trend for load transfer. The onset of multiple slip or the activation of Orowan looping as an additional deformation mechanism are suggested as possible explanations for these observations.

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Hot section components of land-based gas turbines are subject to extremely harsh, high temperature environments and require the use of advanced materials. Directionally solidified Ni-base superalloys are often chosen as materials for these hot section components due to their excellent creep resistance and fatigue properties at high temperatures. These blades undergo complex thermomechanical loading conditions throughout their service life, and the influences of blade geometry and variable operation can make life prediction difficult. Accurate predictions of material response under thermomechanical loading conditions is essential for life prediction of these components. Complex crystal viscoplasticity models are often used to capture the behavior of Ni-base superalloys. While accurate, these models are computationally expensive and are not suitable for all phases of design. This work involves the calibration of a previously developed reduced-order, macroscale transversely isotropic viscoplasticity model to a directionally solidified Ni-base superalloy. The unified model is capable of capturing isothermal and thermomechanical responses in addition to secondary creep behavior. An extreme reduced order microstructure-sensitive constitutive model is also developed using an artificial neural network to provide a rapid first-order approximation of material response under various temperatures, rates of loading, and material orientation from the axis of solidification.

In this licentiate thesis the work done in the TURBO POWER project Influence of high temperature hold times on the fatigue life of nickel-based superalloys will be presented. The overall objective of this project is to develop and evaluate tools for designing against fatigue in gas turbine applications, with special focus on the nickel-based superalloy Inconel 718. Firstly, the constitutive behaviour of the material has been been studied, where focus has been placed on trying to describe the mean stress relaxation and initial softening of the material under intermediate temperatures. Secondly, the fatigue crack propagation behaviour under high temperature hold times has been studied. Focus has here been placed on investigating the main fatigue crack propagation phenomena with the aim of setting up a basis for fatigue crack propagation modelling. This thesis is divided into two parts. The first part describes the general framework, including basic constitutive and fatigue crack propagation behaviour as well as a theoretical background for the constitutive modelling of mean stress relaxation. This framework is then used in the second part, which consists of the four included papers.

Global increase in energy consumption and global warming require more energy production but less CO2emission. Increase in efficiency of energy production is an effective way for this purpose. This can be reached by increasing boiler temperature and pressure in a biomass power plant. By increasing material temperature 50°C, the efficiency in biomass power plants can be increased significantly and the CO2emission can be greatly reduced. However, the materials used for future biomass power plants with higher temperature require improved properties. Austenitic stainless steels are used in most biomass power plants. In austenitic stainless steels a phenomenon called dynamic strain aging (DSA), can occur in the operating temperature range for biomass power plants. DSA is an effect of interaction between moving dislocations and solute atoms and occurs during deformation at certain temperatures. An investigation of DSA influences on ductility in austenitic stainless steels and nickel base alloys have been done. Tensile tests at room temperature up to 700°C and scanning electron microscope investigations have been used. Tensile tests revealed that ductility increases with increased temperature for some materials when for others the ductility decreases. This is, probably due to formation of twins. Increased stacking fault energy (SFE) gives increased amount of twins and high nickel content gives a higher SFE. Deformation mechanisms observed in the microstructure are glide bands (or deformations band), twins, dislocation cells and shear bands. Damage due to DSA can probably be related to intersection between glide bands or twins, see figure 6 a). Broken particles and voids are damage mechanisms observed in the microstructure.

Engineers constantly seek advancements in the performance of aircraft and power generation engines, including, lower costs and emissions, and improved fuel efficiency. Nickel-base superalloys are the material of choice for turbine discs, which experience some of the highest temperatures and stresses in the engine. Engine performance is proportional to operating temperatures. Consequently, the high-temperature capabilities of disc materials limit the performance of gas-turbine engines. Therefore, any improvements to engine performance necessitate improved alloy performance. In order to take advantage of improvements in high-temperature capabilities through tailoring of alloy microstructure, the overall objectives of this work were to establish relationships between alloy processing and microstructure, and between microstructure and mechanical properties. In addition, the project aimed to demonstrate the applicability of neural network modeling to the field of Ni-base disc alloy development and behavior. A full program of heat-treatment, microstructural quantification, mechanical testing, and neural network modeling was successfully applied to next generation Ni-base disc alloys. Mechanical testing included hot tensile, hot hardness, creep deformation, creep crack growth, and fatigue crack growth. From this work the mechanisms of processing-structure and structure-property relationships were studied. Further, testing results were used to demonstrate the applicability of machine-learning techniques to the development and optimization of this family of superalloys.

Haynes alloy 282 is a new gamma prime (γ’) precipitation strengthened nickel-base superalloy developed for high temperature applications in land-based and aero turbine engines. Joining is a crucial process both during the manufacturing of new components and repair of service-damaged turbine parts. Unfortunately, the new superalloy cracks during laser beam welding (LBW), which is an attractive technique for joining superalloys components due to its low heat input characteristic that preclude the geometrical distortion of welded components. This research is therefore initiated with the goal of studying and developing an effective approach for preventing or minimizing cracking during LBW of the new superalloy Haynes 282. Careful and detailed electron microscopy and spectroscopy study reveal, for the first time, the formation of sub-micron grain boundary M5B3 particles, in the material. Microstructural study of welded specimens coupled with Gleeble thermo-mechanical physical simulations shows that the primary cause of weld heat affected zone (HAZ) cracking in the alloy is the sub-solidus liquation reaction of intergranular M5B3 borides in the material. Further weldability study showed that the HAZ liquation cracking problem worsens with reduction in welding heat input, which is normally necessary to produce the desired weld geometry with minimum distortion. In order to minimize the HAZ cracking during low heat input laser welding, microstructural modification of the alloy by heat treatment at 1080 - 1100oC has been developed. The pre-weld heat treatment minimizes cracking in the alloy by reducing the volume fraction of the newly identified M5B3 borides, while also minimizing non-equilibrium grain boundary segregation of boron liberated during dissociation of the boride particles. Further improvement in resistance to cracking was produced by subjecting the material to thermo-mechanically induced grain refinement coupled with a pre-weld heat treatment at 1080oC. This approach produces, for the first time, crack-free welds in this superalloy, and the benefit of this procedure in preventing weld cracking in the new material is preserved after post-weld heat treatment (PWHT), as additional cracking was not observed in welded specimens subjected to PWHT.