Alloying effects on the oxidation behaviour of shot-peened Co-Ni base Superalloys

The effect of shot-peening on the oxidation mechanism in Co-Ni alloys with different Co-Ni ratios and varying Cr and Al contents were investigated at 850 °C for 200 h. A characterization method using isotopic oxygen tracing combined with focused ion-beam secondary ion mass spectrometry (FIB-SIMS) was performed to study the oxidation mechanism in both conditions. Multi-layered oxides in both peened and un-peened conditions consisted of chromia-rich scale on the outermost surface and a protective alumina-rich layer as the internal scale. Internal oxidation to different depths occurred within the alloys with the formation of alumina particles within a γ\u27-depleted zone. The morphology of the sub-surface oxides differed between the two surface conditions examined. Oxidation performance was quantified by measuring cross-sectional damage depths of the outer scale (chromia) and the internal oxidation depth (oxide fingers and y’-depleted depth). Oxidizing environments can promote recrystallization in the near-surface of the shot-peened conditions. The sub-surface oxide penetration for the shot-peened condition occurs to a more uniform depth and is associated with the grain boundaries of small recrystallized grains. This work forms part of an ongoing investigation to determine the effects of shot-peening in this alloy system with the oxidation performance to equivalent polished material at 850 °C

Transport mechanisms during the high-temperature oxidation of ternary γ/γ′ Co-base model alloys

Over a decade ago, γ′-strengthened Co-base alloys were introduced as potential replacement for conventional Ni-base Superalloys. Insufficient resistance against high-temperature oxidation restricts the number of possible applications. The present study contributes to the understanding of elementary mechanisms such as material transport during extensive oxide scale formation on γ/γ′ Co-base alloys to explain their inferior oxidation behaviour. A clear dependency of the scale growth kinetics on W content and oxidation temperature is demonstrated by thermogravimetry and subsequent analysis of cross-sections. By means of electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), the evolution of microstructures in the outer oxide layers were examined depending on the oxidation temperature. Sequential exposure of samples in 16O2- and 18O2-containing atmospheres proved counter-current material transport. The combination of focused ion beam (FIB) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) visualised the formation of new oxide phases mainly on the outer and inner interface of the oxide scale. An elaborate review of available transport paths for oxygen is given during the discussion of results. All experimental findings were combined to a coherent explanation of the inferior oxidation resistance of this relatively new class of high-temperature materials at temperatures above 800 °C

Crack nucleation using combined crystal plasticity modelling, high-resolution digital image correlation and high-resolution electron backscatter diffraction in a superalloy containing non-metallic inclusions under fatigue

A crystal plasticity finite-element model, which explicitly and directly represents the complex microstructures of a non-metallic agglomerate inclusion within polycrystal nickel alloy, has been developed to study the mechanistic basis of fatigue crack nucleation. The methodology is to use the crystal plasticity model in conjunction with direct measurement at the microscale using high (angular) resolution-electron backscatter diffraction (HR-EBSD) and high (spatial) resolution-digital image correlation (HR-DIC) strain measurement techniques. Experimentally, this sample has been subjected to heat treatment leading to the establishment of residual (elastic) strains local to the agglomerate and subsequently loaded under conditions of low cyclic fatigue. The full thermal and mechanical loading history was reproduced within the model. HR-EBSD and HR-DIC elastic and total strain measurements demonstrate qualitative and quantitative agreement with crystal plasticity results. Crack nucleation by interfacial decohesion at the nickel matrix/agglomerate inclusion boundaries is observed experimentally, and systematic modelling studies enable the mechanistic basis of the nucleation to be established. A number of fatigue crack nucleation indicators are also assessed against the experimental results. Decohesion was found to be driven by interface tensile normal stress alone, and the interfacial strength was determined to be in the range of 1270–1480 MPa

The strain fields present during the bending of ultra-high strength steels

Ultra high strength steels (UHSS) have an ultimate tensile strength of greater than 1GPa. Typically, their ambient temperature elongation is less than 10% and as a result, they are rarely used in stamping applications. However, the continuous demand for the weight reduction of structures built for the transport sector means that such materials are attractive because they can be used for parts with thinner cross-sections while maintaining required in-service performance. One way to overcome the ambient temperature ductility of these materials is to roll-form them, particularly with emerging flexible roll forming technology. Using numerically-controlled actuators, the rolls on each stand are designed with sufficient degrees of freedom to form parts that curve, vary in depth and width along their lengths. This makes flexibly roll-formed parts attractive to the transport, particularly the automotive, sector. Roll forming deforms a material through incremental, localised bending, which is known to suppress the necking response, resulting in deformations that are higher than in stretch deformation. Recent work, such as Le Maoût, Thuillier & Manach, Eng. Frac. Mech., Vol. 76, p.1202 (2009), focussed on the development of ductile fracture models to explain failure but their validation was limited to load displacement and surface strain data. This work aims to characterise the strain field during bending more comprehensively. Using the digital image correlation technique, the macroscopic strain distribution in UHSS in the thickness of the sheet and the strain partitioning in its microstructure is measured during bending. The data provides a detailed explanation of the strain distribution during bending

Effects of oxygen-related damage on dwell-fatigue crack propagation in a P/M Ni-based superalloy : from 2D to 3D assessment

Effects of oxygen-related damage (i.e. oxidation and dynamic embrittlement) on fatigue crack propagation behavior in an advanced disc alloy have been assessed in air and vacuum under dwell-fatigue conditions at 725 oC. The enhanced fatigue crack propagation is closely related to oxygen-related damage at/ahead of the crack tip, which is determined by the testing environment, the dwell period and the crack propagation rate itself based on two dimensional (2D) observation of the crack tip in an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. X-ray computed tomography has also been employed to examine the differences between three dimension (3D) crack morphology in air and vacuum conditions, and the crack features have been quantified in terms of crack opening displacements, secondary cracks and uncracked bridging ligaments. The results show that the fatigue crack propagation rate is related to the amount of secondary cracks, and the crack length increment in a loading cycle is related to the breaking/cracking of the uncracked bridging ligaments within the discontinuous cracking zone ahead of the crack tip as oxygen-related damage preferentially occurs in these highly deformed regions. By combination of 3D X-ray computed tomography and traditional 2D observation, a deeper understanding is provided of the mechanisms of oxygen-enhanced fatigue crack propagation behavior

Scanning electrochemical cell microscopy : a versatile method for highly localised corrosion related measurements on metal surfaces

The development of tools that can probe corrosion related phenomena at the (sub)microscale is recognized to be increasingly important in order to understand the surface structural factors (grain orientation, inclusions etc.) that control the (electro)chemical stability (corrosion susceptibility, pitting, passivity etc.) of metal surfaces. Herein we consider the application of scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM), a relatively new member of the electrochemical droplet cell (EDC) family, for corrosion research and demonstrate the power of this technique for resolving structure and activity at the (sub)microscale. Hundreds of spatially-resolved (2 μm droplet size) potentiodynamic polarization experiments have been carried out on the several hours timescale and correlated to complementary structural information from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) in order to determine the effect of grain orientation and inclusions on electrochemical processes at low carbon steel in neutral solution (10 mM KNO3). Through this approach, it has been shown unequivocally that for the low index planes, anodic currents in the passive region (an indicator of corrosion susceptibility) are greatest on (101) planes compared to (100) and (111) planes. Furthermore, individual sub-micron MnS inclusions have been probed and shown to undergo active dissolution followed by rapid repassivation. This study demonstrates the high versatility of SECCM and the considerable potential of this technique for addressing structure-activity problems in corrosion and electromaterials science

Revealing the mechanical and microstructural performance of multiphase steels during tensile, forming and flanging operations

The mechanical performance of Dual Phase (DP) and Complex Phase (CP) steels was investigated by SEM analysis, tensile testing, Forming Limit Curve investigation and flange formability testing. The alloys of interest were Dual Phase (DP) untempered, Dual Phase (DP) tempered and Complex Phase (CP) steels. Phase content analysis showed that the distribution of the ferrite and martensite phases was the same for the two DP alloys, but the grain size and condition (tempered/untempered) for the martensite islands was much different in the two alloys. In the tempered DP steel, the smaller grain size for the martensite and the tempering process resulted in increased elongation, more formability and ability to form a flange (flangeability). In CP steels the soft ferrite phase is replaced by harder bainite, yielding a bainitic-martensitic microstructure. Bainite reduced the total elongation of the alloy during tensile testing, reduced the formability (especially under plane strain conditions) of the alloy but improved the flangeability of the alloy. Under flanging conditions, CP steels deformed to higher strains, at tighter radii with minimum springback. Microstructural inspections at the outer radius of the flanged specimens revealed that in CP steels bainite deforms similarly to martensite, therefore the strain partitioning is smaller in CP steels in comparison to DP steels. Plastic deformation in CP steels upon flanging occurs with the formation of strong slip bands in both martensite and bainite. In contrast, the martensite and ferrite grains in DP steels deform quite differently leading to strong strain localisations. Void nucleation and cracking occurred at the martensite islands or within the soft ferrite phase next to the martensite islands. In CP steels no voids or damage was observed within the matrix. A special case study was done with a thicker and stronger alloy, a Martensitic 1400 steel to reveal the flangeability limits for advanced high strength steels. Neither cracks nor damage were observed visually on the flanged specimens. However SEM observations at the outer radius of the flanged samples revealed significant void growth at inclusion sites and cracks nucleating within the matrix adjacent to the inclusions.Publisher Statement: This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0/)</p

Nanoscale electrochemical visualization of grain-dependent anodic iron dissolution from low carbon steel

The properties of steels and other alloys are often tailored to suit specific applications through the manipulation of microstructure (e.g., grain structure). Such microscopic heterogeneities are also known to modulate corrosion susceptibility/resistance, but the exact dependency remains unclear, largely due to the challenge of probing and correlating local electrochemistry and structure at complex (alloy) surfaces. Herein, high-resolution scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) is employed to perform spatially-resolved potentiodynamic polarisation measurements, which, when correlated to co-located structural information from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), analytical scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), reveal the relationship between anodic metal (iron) dissolution and the crystallographic orientation of low carbon steel in aqueous sulfuric acid (pH 2.3). Considering hundreds of individual measurements made on each of the low-index planes of body-centred cubic (bcc) low carbon steel, the rate of iron dissolution, and thus overall corrosion susceptibility, increases in the order (101) < (111) < (100). These results are rationalized by complementary density functional theory (DFT) calculations, where the experimental rate of iron dissolution correlates with the energy required to remove (and ionise) one iron atom at the surface of a lattice, calculated for each low index orientation. Overall, this study further demonstrates how nanometre-resolved electrochemical techniques such as SECCM can be effectively utilised to vastly improve the understanding of structure-function in corrosion science, particularly when combined with complementary, co-located structural characterisation (EBSD, STEM etc.) and computational analysis (DFT)