Design of Additively Manufactured Ni-Based Superalloys Based on Solid Solution Elements

doi:10.11900/0412.1961.2024.00239

Acta Metall Sin

2026, Vol. 62

Issue (8): 1395-1404 DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2024.00239

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Design of Additively Manufactured Ni-Based Superalloys Based on Solid Solution Elements

ZHANG Xue¹^,², LIANG Jingjing²(

), ZHAO Yusong³, ZHANG Huan², MU Yahang¹^,², ZHOU Yizhou², SUN Xiaofeng², LI Jinguo²(

)

1 School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Shenyang 110016, China
2 Shi -changxu Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
3 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenyang Aerospace University, Shenyang 110136, China

Cite this article:

ZHANG Xue, LIANG Jingjing, ZHAO Yusong, ZHANG Huan, MU Yahang, ZHOU Yizhou, SUN Xiaofeng, LI Jinguo. Design of Additively Manufactured Ni-Based Superalloys Based on Solid Solution Elements. Acta Metall Sin, 2026, 62(8): 1395-1404.

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Abstract

Cracking and insufficient strength at high temperatures are major challenges in the manufacturing of additive-manufactured nickel-based superalloys, but can be effectively solved by a composition design based on solid solution elements. In this study, the amounts of γ′ phases, cracks, lattice mismatch, and topological close-packed (TCP) phase in additively manufactured Ni-based superalloys were investigated through thermodynamic calculations, OM, XRD, SEM,TEM, and tensile property tests. The preliminarily optimized ZGH-10 alloy exhibited a good microstructure and excellent tensile properties, with a solid solution strength and crack area percentage of 236 MPa and (1.3 × 10^-4)%, respectively. The lattice mismatch of the ZGH-10 alloy (-0.26%) contributes to square γ' phases. After thermal exposure to 1000 ^oC for 500 h, no TCP phase precipitation appears in the ZGH-10 alloy. At 25 ^oC, 760 ^oC, and 1000 ^oC, the ZGH-10 alloy delivers tensile strengths of 1290, 1089, and 555 MPa, respectively, and elongations of 17.0%, 10.8%, and 28.5%, respectively, showing excellent strength and ductility of the alloy.

Key words: additive manufacturing Ni-based superalloy solid solution element composition design

Received: 17 July 2024

ZTFLH:

TG142

Fund: National Science and Technology Major Project(Y2019-VII-0011-0151);National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021YFB3702503)

Corresponding Authors: LI Jinguo, professor, Tel: (024)83978872, E-mail: jgli@imr.ac.cn; LIANG Jingjing, professor, Tel: (024)23971787, E-mail: jjliang@imr.ac.cn

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	Articles by authors
	ZHANG Xue
	LIANG Jingjing
	ZHAO Yusong
	ZHANG Huan
	MU Yahang
	ZHOU Yizhou
	SUN Xiaofeng
	LI Jinguo

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https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/0412.1961.2024.00239 OR https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2026/V62/I8/1395

Table 1 Orthogonal experiment of five factors and three levels

Table 2 Nominal chemical compositions of solid solution elements of nickel-based superalloys

Fig.1 Morphology (a) and particle size distribution (b) of alloy powders (Inset in Fig.1a is the enlarged view of powders)

Fig.2 As-deposited sample fabricated by directed energy deposition (DED) (a) and schematic of sample (b) for tensile testing

Fig.3 γ' phase content calculated by Thermo-Calc at 760 and 1000 ^oC

Table 3 Solid solution strengthening coefficient (

k i

) and Md values for solute in nickel

Fig.4 Cracks (indicated by arrows) on the longitudinal sections of ZGH-1 (a) and ZGH-10 (b) alloys

Fig.5 Relationships between solid solution strength ( $σ s s s$ ) and area fraction of cracks of alloys

Fig.6 Cracks in ZGH-11 alloy showing liquation crack (a) and eutectics in liquation crack (b)

Fig.7 XRD spectra at room temperature of (002) peaks and fitting curves for ZGH-8 (a) and ZGH-10 (b) alloys

Alloy	$a γ'$ / nm	$a γ$ / nm	δ / %
ZGH-8	0.35706	0.35751	-0.13
ZGH-10	0.35776	0.35870	-0.26

Table 4 Lattice parameters of γ and γ′ phases (

a γ

a γ'

), and lattice misfits (

δ

) in ZGH-8 and ZGH-10 alloys

Fig.8 Dark-field TEM images of γ' phases of ZGH-8 (a) and ZGH-10 (b) alloys

Fig.9 SEM images (a, b), EDS mappings (c), and HRTEM image and SAED pattern (inset) (d) of carbides (indicated by arrows) precipitation after long-term thermal exposure at 1000 ^oC for 100 h (a, c) and 500 h (b, d)

Fig.10 SEM image and EDS mappings of MC carbide after long-term thermal exposure at 1000 ^oC for 500 h

Fig.11 Tensile properties of ZGH-10 alloy at different temperatures (a) and comparisons with additively manufactured Ni-based superalloys reported in the literatures [28-31] (b)

Fig.12 Cross-section (a, c, e) and longitudinal-section (b, d, f) fracture SEM images of ZGH-10 alloy at the temperatures of 25 ^oC (a, b), 760 ^oC (c, d), and 1000 ^oC (e, f) (Insets show the fracture macromorphologies)

Fig.13 TEM images of deformation microstructures of ZGH-10 alloy after tensile test at 25 ^oC (a), 760 ^oC (b), and 1000 ^oC (c) (SF—stacking fault, LC lock—Lomer-Cottrell lock)

Fig.14 SFs on different sets of {111} planes (a), and as the SFs glide, a LC lock is formed (b)

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