Effect of Cooling Rate on the Microstructure of Laser-Remelted INCONEL 718 Coating

The rapid cooling rate was achieved during laser remelting with high scanning speed. The microstructure and precipitations in the INCONEL 718 remelted layer were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and solid phase microextraction (SPME). The phase transition temperatures were carried out by differential thermal analysis (DTA). The results showed that columnar-dendritic and equiaxial structures appeared in different regions of the remelted layer. The dendritic spacing of the columnar dendrite and equiaxed grain size decreased with increasing scanning speed. The precipitations in the remelted layer consisted of Laves, granular phase, and a small quantity of quadrangular nitride (Ti, Nb)N. The granular phase Nb(Al, Ti) was precipitated at about 1272 K (999 °C) with the spontaneous decomposition of the supersaturation Laves during the cooling stage, and the small-size granule became coarsened to 0.2 to 0.9 μm during the cooling stage. The noncoherent relationship existed between the granular phase and austenite, and the coarsening of granule was related to the cube root of the diffusion coefficient, interfacial energy, and diffusion time. The microhardness of the remelted layer was increased by increasing the cooling rate due to the Nb atomic solid solution strengthening caused by the distorted elastic stress field and the short-range internal stress.