Reduced Dwell-Fatigue Resistance in a Ni-Base Superalloy After Short-Term Thermal Exposure

The effect of short-term thermal exposure on microstructure and dwell-fatigue resistance of Ni-base superalloy 718Plus was investigated. Contrary to previous studies performed after long-term exposure, an increase in the dwell-fatigue crack growth rate was observed, which was connected to a small increase in the size of the hardening precipitates. The proposed controlling mechanism was the stress relaxation rate at the crack tip, and based on this a schematic model for the development of the properties during exposure is presented.