The Effect of Precipitates on the Stress Rupture Properties of Laser Powder Bed Fusion Inconel 718 Alloy

Improving the high-temperature stress rupture properties of Inconel 718 (IN718) alloys is crucial for enhancing aircraft engine performance. By using the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technique, IN718 alloys were crafted at varying volumetric energy densities (VED) in this study. The dendrite growth mode, reinforcing phase distribution and high temperature stress rupture properties of various VED samples were investigated. The results showed that the stress rupture life and the uniform elongation of the samples both first increased and then decreased with the increase in VED. When the VED was 60 J/mm³, the maximum rupture life and elongation of the sample were 43 h and 3.8%, respectively. As the VED increased, the angle of dislocation in the dendrite decreased while the spacing between primary dendrite arms increased, resulting in an increase in the size and volume fraction of the Laves phase. Following a heat treatment, the δ phase would nucleate preferentially around the dissolved Laves phase causing an increase in the volume fraction of the δ phase with the increase in VED. The creep voids readily formed around the δ phase are distributed along the grain boundaries, while the inhomogeneous δ phase and fine grains facilitated crack initiation and propagation. Furthermore, a significant quantity of the δ phase consumed the Nb element, thereby hindering adequate precipitation in the γ″ phase and causing cracks.