Effect of post fabrication aging treatment on the microstructure, crystallographic texture and elevated temperature mechanical properties of IN718 alloy fabricated by selective laser melting

Abstract

The effect of building direction and post fabrication aging treatment on the microstructure, crystallographic texture and high temperature mechanical properties of Inconel 718 (IN718) alloy fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) method was investigated. After aging, arc-shaped structures seen in as-fabricated samples disappeared and converted into a mixture of columnar and equiaxed grains. Nano-sized γ″ and/or γ′ precipitates were formed upon aging; however, MC type carbides and Laves phase encountered in as-fabricated samples were not dissolved completely after aging. Moreover, aging did not alter the texture ((001)//building direction (BD)) of as-fabricated samples. Mechanical properties of the alloys under tension were influenced by the build direction, aging time and test temperature. As-fabricated samples produced in vertical direction exhibited higher room temperature strengths with lower ductility due to orientation of overlapped prior melt pools. Room temperature tensile test results revealed that peak aging caused a significant improvement in ultimate tensile strength (UTS), from 1066.5 MPa and 998.4 MPa to 1408.5 MPa and 1330.4 MPa whereas elongation values decreased from 27.5% and 32.2% to 19.6% and 23.7% in vertically and horizontally built samples, respectively. Peak-aged samples (aged at 700 °C for 8 h) tested at 600 °C displayed serrated regions in their stress-strain curves due to dynamic strain aging (DSA). Although strength values of the samples displayed an expected decrease by temperature, ductility of the samples reduced to minimum at temperatures around 700–800 °C, which was attributed to intermediate temperature embrittlement.