The effect of an air environment on the creep and rupture behavior of a nickel-base high temperature alloy

The behavior of wrought and cast polycrystalline Udimet 700 tested in static tension at 1200 K (1700†F) has been determined. An air environment decreases rupture life and ductility, except in very coarse-grained cast specimens, because of premature failure by stress-assisted grain boundary oxidation and cracking. In very coarse-grained cast specimens greater life and ductility are found in air than in vacuum, presumably due to the paucity of transverse grain boundaries and to some type of surface hardening effect. Wrought specimens exhibit greater grain boundary sliding, hence more cracking, shorter life, and lower ductility, than cast specimens in any environment. This is attributed to differences in grain boundary topography. Formerly Research Fellow, Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science and LRSM, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia