Effect of Heat Treatment on Flame Retardant Property of GH4169 Alloy Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting

doi:10.11900/0412.1961.2024.00353

Acta Metall Sin

2026, Vol. 62

Issue (8): 1385-1394 DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2024.00353

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Effect of Heat Treatment on Flame Retardant Property of GH4169 Alloy Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting

ZHOU Jiaxuan¹^,², SI Hongli², ZHANG Guilin², ZHANG Shaohua²(

), ZHANG Jian²(

), TIAN Yanzhong¹, PANG Xueyong¹

1 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
2 Shi -changxu Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China

Cite this article:

ZHOU Jiaxuan, SI Hongli, ZHANG Guilin, ZHANG Shaohua, ZHANG Jian, TIAN Yanzhong, PANG Xueyong. Effect of Heat Treatment on Flame Retardant Property of GH4169 Alloy Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting. Acta Metall Sin, 2026, 62(8): 1385-1394.

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Abstract

With the advancement of high-thrust liquid rocket engine toward higher chamber pressure and specific impulse, the turbine pump system of the gas generator is being increasingly exposed to extreme high-temperature and high-pressure oxygen-enriched environments. This exacerbates the risk of metal-oxidation combustion failure of superalloy components. The production of high-performance and complex-structured superalloy parts via selective laser melting technology has emerged as a key research area in the manufacture of critical aerospace components. Therefore, the investigation of the oxygen-enriched combustion mechanism of high-temperature alloy materials fabricated using the selective laser melting technology is of great practical significance. This study investigated the effect of heat treatment on the flame retardant property of GH4169 alloy produced via selective laser melting using self-developed experimental equipment designed for oxygen-enriched combustion testing of metal materials. A high-speed camera was used to observe and record the combustion process. The microstructure and combustion morphology of the alloy were analyzed using OM, SEM, and EDS. The as-deposited sample exhibited a typical fish-scale molten pool morphology, with numerous low-melting-point Laves phases precipitating in the interdendritic regions and grain boundaries. Following heat treatment at 980 ^oC, most Laves phases dissolved, and needle-like and short rod-like δ-Ni₃Nb phases precipitated at the grain boundaries and in the interdendritic regions. Upon increasing the solution temperature to 1080 ^oC, the volume fraction of precipitated phases was significantly reduced. Consequently, only a small number of nano-sized Laves particles were formed within the grains and a certain amount of blocky carbides were located at the grain boundaries. Combustion resistance testing revealed that the as-deposited sample exhibited the poorest resistance, whereas samples heat-treated at 1080 ^oC demonstrated the highest resistance. Further, microstructural analysis confirmed that the combustion behavior was closely related to the type and volume fraction of the precipitates within the matrix. Laves phases with high Nb content melted early in the combustion, thereby accelerating the reaction owing to the high combustion heat of Nb. The δ phases formed after heat treatment at 980 ^oC also promoted combustion. Thus, these findings suggest that eliminating the low-melting-point phases and controlling the types of precipitated phases are key strategies for enhancing the flame retardant properties of GH4169 alloy.

Key words: metal combustion GH4169 alloy selective laser melting precipitated phase flame retardant property

Received: 21 October 2024

ZTFLH:

TG146.15

Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(52150233);Key Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(ZDRW-CN-2021-2-1)

Corresponding Authors: ZHANG Shaohua, associate professor, Tel: (024)23748882, E-mail: zhangshaohua@imr.ac.cn; ZHANG Jian, professor, Tel: (024)23971196, E-mail: jianzhang@imr.ac.cn

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	ZHOU Jiaxuan
	SI Hongli
	ZHANG Guilin
	ZHANG Shaohua
	ZHANG Jian
	TIAN Yanzhong
	PANG Xueyong

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https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/0412.1961.2024.00353 OR https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2026/V62/I8/1385

Table 1 Chemical compositions of the processed GH4169 powder and heat of combustion of metal elements (H_c)

Table 2 Heat treatment schedule of GH4169 alloy fabricated by selective laser melting

Fig.1 Experimental setup in promoted ignition-combustion (PIC) test chamber (a), and combustion processes of the 1080SDA sample at an oxygen pressure of 5.0 MPa (b-k)

Fig.2 Low (a-c) and high (a1-c1) magnified SEM images of samples suffering different heat treatments (Insets in Figs.2b1 and c1 are the locally enlarged images of square regions showing γ'/γ" strengthening phases) (a, a1) AS (b, b1) 980SDA (c, c1) 1080SDA

Fig.3 DSC heating curves of samples suffering different heat treatments

Fig.4 Macroscopic morphologies of samples suffering different heat treatments after combustions at different oxygen pressures (Inset in Fig.4a shows the combustion zone)

Fig.5 Average combustion lengths (a) and average combustion rates (b) of samples suffering different heat treatments after combustion at different oxygen pressures

Fig.6 Cross sectional OM images of combustion zone of samples suffering different heat treatments after combustion at an oxygen pressure of 5.0 MPa (HAZ—heat affected zone)

Fig.7 Low (a-c) and locally high (d-f) magnified SEM images of the HAZ of samples suffering different heat treatments after combustion at an oxygen pressure of 5.0 MPa (a, d) AS (b, e) 980SDA (c, f) 1080SDA

Fig.8 OM (a-c) and SEM (d-f) images of the transition zone of samples suffering different heat treatments after combustion at an oxygen pressure of 5.0 MPa (Circles in Figs.8d-f show dendritic hole morphologies) (a, d) AS (b, e) 980SDA (c, f)1080SDA

Fig.9 SEM images (a-c) and EDS analysis results (a1-c1) of typical spherical oxides in the melting zone of samples suffering different heat treatments after combustion at an oxygen pressure of 5.0 MPa (a, a1) AS (b, b1) 980SDA (c, c1) 1080SDA

Fig.10 Low (a) and locally high (b) magnified SEM images of oxide morphology and corresponding EDS elemental distribution mappings of 1080SDA sample at the combustion front after combustion at an oxygen pressure of 5.0 MPa

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