The yield stress of multicomponent nickel solid solution alloys has not been modeled in the past with respect to the effects of composition and temperature. There have been investigations of the effect on the yield stress of solutes in binary systems at a fixed temperature, but the effects on the yield stress of multiple solute elements and temperature changes have not been investigated. In this article, two different forms of the trough model are considered for nickel-base alloys to determine the most applicable model for solid solution strengthening in the system. The yield stresses of three binary nickel-chromium and three ternary nickel alloys were determined at a range of temperatures. The yield stress of the alloys was then modeled using the Feltham equation. The constants determined in fitting the Feltham equation to the experimental data were then applied to other experimental solid solution alloys and also to published information on commercial solid solution nickel alloys. It was found that the yield stress of the nickel solid solution alloys could be modeled successfully using the Feltham equation.

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Fatigue initiation behaviour in three multi-component Al-Si casting alloys with varying Si content is compared using a range of microscopy and analytical techniques. A higher proportion of stiffer secondary phases leads to load transfer effects reducing particle cracking and particle/matrix debonding. Si appears stronger than the Al9FeNi phase, which cracks and debonds to form initiation sites preferentially over Si. Reducing Si content results in clusters of intermetallics forming, and increased porosity. The effect of porosity, combined with mesoscopic load transfer effects to the high volume fraction intermetallic regions make these potent crack initiation sites in low silicon alloys.

The microstructure in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of welds made from the 9 wt pct chromium martensitic Grade 92 steel is complex and has not yet been completely understood. There is a lack of systematic microstructural investigations to define the different regions of the microstructure across the HAZ of Grade 92 steel welds as a function of the welding process. In this study, the microstructure in the HAZ of an as-fabricated single-pass bead-on-plate weld on a parent metal of Grade 92 steel was systematically investigated by using an extensive range of electron and ion-microscopy-based techniques. A dilatometer was used to apply controlled thermal cycles to simulate the microstructures in the different regions of the HAZ. A wide range of microstructural properties in the simulated materials were then characterized and compared with the experimental observations from the weld HAZ. It was found that the microstructure in the HAZ of a single-pass Grade 92 steel weld can be categorized as a function of a decreasing peak temperature reached as (1) the completely transformed (CT) region, in which the original matrix is completely reaustenitized with complete dissolution of the pre-existing secondary precipitate particles; (2) the partially transformed (PT) region, where the original matrix is partially reaustenitized along with a partial dissolution of the secondary precipitate particles from the original matrix; and (3) the overtempered (OT) region, where the pre-existing precipitate particles coarsen. The PT region is considered to be the susceptible area for damage in the commonly reported HAZ failures in weldments constructed from these types of steels.