The effect of sheet processing on the microstructure, tensile, and creep behavior of INCONEL alloy 718

The grain size, grain boundary character distribution (GBCD), creep, and tensile behavior of INCONEL alloy 718 (IN 718) were characterized to identify processing-microstructure-property relationships. The alloy was sequentially cold rolled (CR) to 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, and 80 pct followed by annealing at temperatures between 954 °C and 1050 °C and the traditional aging schedule used for this alloy. In addition, this alloy can be superplastically formed (IN 718SPF) to a significantly finer grain size and the corresponding microstructure and mechanical behavior were evaluated. The creep behavior was evaluated in the applied stress (σ _a ) range of 300 to 758 MPa and the temperature range of 638 °C to 670 °C. Constant-load tensile creep experiments were used to measure the values of the steady-state creep rate and the consecutive load reduction method was used to determine the values of backstress (σ₀). The values for the effective stress exponent and activation energy suggested that the transition between the rate-controlling creep mechanisms was dependent on effective stresses (σ _e =σ _a σ₀) and the transition occurred at σ _e ≅ 135 MPa. The 10 to 40 pct CR samples exhibited the greatest 650 °C strength, while IN 718SPF exhibited the greatest room-temperature (RT) tensile strength (>1550 MPa) and ductility (ε _f >16 pct). After the 954 °C annealing treatment, the 20 pct CR and 30 pct CR microstructures exhibited the most attractive combination of elevated-temperature tensile and creep strength, while the most severely cold-rolled materials exhibited the poorest elevated-temperature properties. After the 1050 °C annealing treatment, the IN 718SPF material exhibited the greatest backstress and best creep resistance. Electron backscattered diffraction was performed to identify the GBCD as a function of CR and annealing. The data indicated that annealing above 1010 °C increased the grain size and resulted in a greater fraction of twin boundaries, which in turn increased the fraction of coincident site lattice boundaries. This result is discussed in light of the potential to grain boundary engineer this alloy. INCONEL is a registered trademark of Special Metals Corp., Huntington, WV. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Processing and Properties of Structural Materials,” which occurred during the Fall TMS meeting in Chicago, Illinois, November 9–12, 2003, under the auspices of the Structural Materials Committee.