Electron beam melting (EBM) of Alloy 718 is of rapidly growing interest as it allows cost-effective production of complex components. However, the inherent flaws in the component in as-built state are of concern in view of the severe working conditions in which Alloy 718 components typically operate. The present work entails an investigation of changes in microstructure that accompany some post-treatments that are being widely considered to address defects in EBM processed Alloy 718. The effect of two different post-treatments, namely hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and a combined HIP + heat treatment (HT) carried out inside the HIP vessel, have been studied and results from as-built and post-treated specimens were compared in terms of porosity/lack-of-fusion, microstructure, phase constitution (NbC content, d-phase) and micro-hardness. Post-treatment resulted in reduction in defect content by more than an order of magnitude. HIPing led to complete dissolution of d phase. In comparison to as-built material, HIPed specimens exhibited significant drop in hardness. However, a sharp ÔrecoveryÕ of hardness to yield values higher than in as-built condition was observed after HIP + HT and can be attributed to precipitation of c¢¢ phase.
Additive manufacturing (AM) of Ni-based superalloys such as Alloy 718 may obviate the need for difficult machining and welding operations associated with geometrically intricate parts, thus potentially expanding design possibilities and facilitating cost-effective manufacture of complex components. However, processing AM builds completely free from defects, which may impair mechanical properties such as fatigue and ductility, is challenging. Anisotropic properties, microstructural heterogeneities and local formation of undesired phases are additional concerns that have motivated post-treatment of AM builds. This work investigates the microstructural changes associated with post-treatment of Alloy 718 specimens produced by Electron Beam Melting (EBM) for as-built microstructures at 3 build heights: near base plate, in the middle of build and near the top of the build. Two different post-treatment conditions, hot isostatic pressing (HIP) alone and a combined HIP with solutionising and two-step aging were examined and compared to the results for the as-built condition. The influence of various posttreatments on minor phase distributions (, γ", carbides), overall porosity, longitudinal grain widths and Vickers microhardness was considered. The HIP treatment led to significant reduction in overall porosity and dissolution of phase, which led to appreciable grain growth for both post-treatment conditions. The variation in hardness noted as a function of build height for the as-built specimens was eliminated after post-treatment. Overall, the hardness was found to decrease after HIP and increase after the full HIP, solutionising and aging treatment, which was attributed to dissolution of γ" during HIP and its re-precipitation in subsequent heat treatment steps.
Inconel 718 alloy fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) (or laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF)) has been post-process heat-treated by stress-relief anneal at 1065 °C; stress-relief anneal (1065 °C) + solution treatment (at 720 °C) + aging (at 620 °C); hot isostatic pressing (HIP) (at 1120–1200 °C); stress-relief anneal + HIP; and stress-relief anneal + HIP + solution treatment + aging. Microstructure analysis utilizing optical metallography revealed primarily equiaxed grain structures (having average diameters ranging from ~30 to 49 microns) containing annealing twins, and a high concentration of carbide precipitates in all HIP-related treatments in the grain boundaries and intragrain regions. However, no precipitates nucleated on the {111} coherent annealing twin boundaries because of their very low interfacial free energy in contrast to regular grain boundaries. The mechanical properties for the as-fabricated Inconel 718 exhibited a yield stress of 0.64 GPa, UTS of 0.98 GPa, and elongation of 26%. Following stress-relief anneal at 1065 °C, the yield stress dropped to 0.60 GPa, while the elongation increased to 43%. The associated grain structure was an irregular, somewhat elongated, recrystallized structure. This structure was preserved at a stress anneal at 1065 °C + solution treatment + aging, but grain boundary and intragrain precipitation resulted in a doubling of the yield stress to 1.3 GPa and a reduced elongation of 12.6%. The results of HIP-related post-process heat treatments involving temperatures above 1060 °C demonstrated that the yield stress and elongations could be varied from 1.07 to 1.17 GPa and 11.4% to 19%, respectively. Corresponding Rockwell C-scale hardness values also varied from 33 for the as-fabricated Inconel 718 to 53 for simple post-process HIP treatment at 1163 °C.
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