Selective electron beam melting (SEBM), which belongs to the additive manufacturing processes, is applied to produce samples from the single crystalline nickel-base superalloy CMSX-4. The influence of the high solidification rates on the microstructure and element distribution is investigated by OM, SEM, DSC, and EMPA. Solution heat treatments at different temperatures and holding times are applied to demonstrate the difference between conventionally cast and SEBM material. The results demonstrate that SEBM is able to produce superalloys with a degree of homogeneity which cannot be realized in conventional processes.[*] M. Ramsperger, R. F. Singer, C. K€ orner Friedrich-Alexander Universit€ at Erlangen-N€ urnberg, Lehrstuhl Werkstoffkunde und Technologie der Metalle, 91058,

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The demand for increased efficiency of industrial gas turbines and aero engines drives the search for the next generation of materials. Promising candidates for such new materials are Co-based superalloys. We characterize the microsegregation and solidification of a multi-component Co-based superalloy and compare it to a ternary CoAl-W compound and to two exemplary Ni-based superalloys by combining the experimental characterization of the as-cast microstructures with complementary modelling of phase stability. On the experimental side, we characterize the microstructure and precipitates by electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and determine the element distributions and microsegregation coefficients by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). On the modelling side, we carry out solidification simulations and a structure map analysis in order to relate the local chemical composition with phase stability. We find that the microsegregation coefficients for the individual elements are very similar in the investigated Co-based and Ni-based superalloys. By interpreting the local chemical composition from EPMA with the structure map, we effectively unite the set of element distribution maps to compound maps with very good contrast of the dendritic microstructure. The resulting compound maps of the microstructure in terms of average band filling and atomic-size difference explain the formation of topologically close-packed phases in the interdendritic regions. We identify B2, C14, and D0 24 precipitates with chemical compositions that are in line with the structure map.

Initially, as-cast and homogenized single crystals of nickel-base superalloy CMSX-4 are subjected to hot isostatic pressing at 1288 C. Two series of experiments are conducted: under the same pressure of 103 MPa but with different durations, between 0.5 and 6 h, and under different pressures, between 15 and 150 MPa, but for the same time of 0.5 h. The porosity annihilation is investigated metallographically and by high-resolution synchrotron X-ray tomography. The obtained experimental results are compared with the predictions of the vacancy model proposed recently in the group. Herein, the model is further refined by coupling with X-ray tomography. The model describes the evolution of the pore arrays enclosed in the 3D synchrotron tomograms during hot isostatic pressing and properly predicts the time and stress dependences of the pore annihilation kinetics. The validated model and the obtained experimental results are used for selecting the optimal technological parameters such as applied pressure and processing time.