Effect of ultrasonic micro-forging treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of GH3039 superalloy processed by directed energy deposition

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2020.09.001

Abstract

Abstract:

In this work, ultrasonic micro-forging treatment (UMFT) was introduced to achieve homogeneous microstructure, reduce defects and improve mechanical properties of GH3039 superalloy cladding layer processed by directed energy deposition (DED). The microstructure, defects and mechanical properties of the cladding layers treated by UMFT with different ultrasonic powers (UIPs) were investigated. Results revealed a gradient structure as equiaxed grains distributed at the top, a columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET) region that mixed of columnar dendrites and equiaxed grains distributed at the middle and columnar dendrites at the bottom of the cladding layer was formed. After UMFT, the proportion of equiaxed grains was increased, the average size of equiaxed grains was refined to 10 μm from 16 μm, the orientation of grains was more uniform and the phases enriched of Al, Ti, C, Nb and Mo were precipitated. The grain refinement can be attributed to the fracture of columnar dendrites induced by the ultrasonic vibration during solidification. Besides, the porosity of the cladding layer was reduced after UMFT. The microhardness of the cladding layers exhibited a depth-dependent gradient at the top region. The microhardness of the top surface was the highest and showed an increasing trend with the increase of UIP. The microhardness of different grain morphologies exhibited no substantial difference. However, due to grain refinement and precipitation of strengthening phase induced by UMFT, the microhadness of some local locations were improved. These results indicated UMFT has a significant effect on improving the microstructure, defects and mechanical properties of the deposited cladding layer.

Key words: Directed energy deposition, GH3039 superalloy, Ultrasonic micro-forging treatment, Microstructure evolution, Mechanical properties

Qingqing Li, Yong Zhang, Jie Chen, Bugao Guo, Weicheng Wang, Yuhai Jing, Yong Liu. Effect of ultrasonic micro-forging treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of GH3039 superalloy processed by directed energy deposition[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2021, 70: 185-196.

Figures/Tables 16

Table 1 Chemical compositions of the GH3039 surperalloy wire.

C	Al	Si	Ti	Cr	Fe	Nb	Mo	Ni
0.38	0.60	0.19	0.48	19.04	1.38	0.77	1.86	Bal.

Fig. 1. The build chamber of the UMFT assisted LMWD system: (a) schematic diagram, (b) digital image.

Table 2 Main characteristics of the UMFT assisted LMWD system and the process parameters applied in this study.

Process parameters	Applied value main characteristics of this system)
Laser power	2 (0-4) kW
Laser focal length	360 mm
Diameter at focal point	3.5 mm
Laser scan rate	4.2 mm/s
Wire feeding rate	24 mm/s
Wire diameter	1.2 (0.8/1.0/1.2 mm)
Wire feeding angle	30° (15°-75°)
Shielding gas (Ar)	20 (0-25) L/min
Average load of UMFT	20 (0-100) kg
Ultrasonic amplitude	30 μm
Maximum ultrasonic power	500 W
UIPs	0, 30 %, 60 %, 90 % (0-100 %)

Fig. 2. (a) A schematic view of single-track cladding layer showing the geometrical characteristics. (b) The deposited cladding layers treated by different UIPs. (c-f) OM images of the cladding layers treated by different UIPs: (c) 0, (d) 30 %, (e) 60 % and (f) 90 %. Geometrical characteristics: (g) H, W and h, (h) θ and D. W: clad width, H: clad height, θ: clad angle or wetting angle, h: penetration depth, D: dilution.

Fig. 3. OM images showing the grain distribution and typical grain morphologies of the longitudinal view for the cladding layers treated by different UIPs: (a) 0, (b) 30 %, (c) 60 % and (d) 90 %. (e) Equiaxed grains and (f) columnar dendrites at the top and bottom region of the cladding layers, respectively. The black arrows in the insert image in the bottom right corner illustrate the observation direction.

Fig. 4. OM images showing the grain distribution and magnified images of different regions of the cross-sectional view for the cladding layers treated by different UIPs: (a) 0, (b) 30 %, (c) 60 % and (d) 90 %.

Fig. 5. SEM images of the cross-sectional view of the cladding layers treated by (a-c) UIP-0, (d-f) UIP-60 %, insert images in (d) and (f) are magnified views of the precipitated phases. Image (g)-(k) are the EDS results of #1-#5 in.(a), (d) and (f). #1 and #3: intragranular (IG), #2 and #4: grain boundary (GB), #5: precipitated phases (marked in dotted red circle). (l) EDS results of C, Al, Ti, Nb and Mo of specific points.

Fig. 6. The grain distribution of the cross-sectional view showing the cladding layers treated by different UIPs: (a) 0, (b) 30 %, (c) 60 % and (d) 90 %. (e) Gain morphology distribution, (f) average size of equiaxed grains.

Fig. 7. Schematic diagrams illustrating (a) solidification process of AM, (b) effect of UMFT on microstructure and (c-e) columnar dendrites transform into equiaxed grains in the mush zone. S and L are solidus and liquidus, respectively. Mushy zone is the coexistent region existing between the liquid and solid phases. G is the thermal gradient.

Table 3 EDS results of point scans (marked in Fig. 5) of the cladding layers treated by UIP-0 and UIP-60 %. IG-0 and GB-0 are for the cladding layer treated by UIP-0. IG-60 %, GB-60 % and Phases-60 % are for the cladding layer treated by UIP-60 %. IG: intragranular, GB: grain boundary. Unit: wt.%.

Spectrum	C	Al	Si	P	Ti	Cr	Mn	Fe	Ni	Nb	Mo
IG-0	0.89	0.77	0.19	0.00	0.50	20.61	0.00	2.22	72.74	0.47	1.63
GB-0	0.75	0.93	0.23	0.04	0.96	20.97	0.00	1.82	69.46	1.96	2.87
IG-60 %	0.49	0.82	0.16	0.01	0.52	20.19	0.05	3.13	72.19	0.52	1.91
GB-60 %	0.44	0.74	0.27	0.06	0.79	20.77	0.00	2.96	70.39	1.35	2.23
Phases-60 %	2.07	1.82	0.36	0.11	8.98	17.80	0.00	1.57	50.06	13.65	3.57

Fig. 8. (a) The XRD patterns of the cladding layers treated by different UIPs. Diffraction peak positions of (b) (111) plane and (c) (200) plane treated by different UIPs.

Table 4 FWHM values and 2 Theta of the cladding layers treated by different UIPs.

Specimen	Peak (111)	2 Theta (°)	FWHM (°)	Peak (200)	2 Theta (°)	FWHM (°)
UIP-0	γ, γ′	43.880	0.218	γ, γ′	51.061	0.373
UIP-30 %		43.853	0.309		51.009	0.427
UIP-60 %		43.815	0.397		50.984	0.433
UIP-90 %		43.880	0.284		51.023	0.422

Fig. 9. DSC curves of the top surface of the cladding layers treated by UIP-0 and UIP-60 %: (a) heating process, (b) cooling process. Tγ′ and Tcarbide are the temperatures where γ′ and carbide begin to dissolve or form, respectively. TS and TL are the solidus and the liquidus temperatures, respectively.

Table 5 Results of DSC analysis and the main phase transformation temperatures (℃) of the cladding layers treated by UIP-0 and UIP-60 %.

	T_S→L	T_γ′↔γ	T_carbide↔L	T_L→S	△T	Specimen
Heating process	1348	1164	1361	-	-	UIP-0
Heating process	1348	1183	1368	-	-	UIP-60 %
Cooling process	-	-	-	1387	-	UIP-0
Cooling process	-	1153	-	1378	-	UIP-60 %
Phase transformation	1348	1164	1361	1387	39	UIP-0
Phase transformation	1348	1168	1368	1378	30	UIP-60 %

Fig. 10. (a) The microhardness distribution at different depths from the top surface, (b) the microhardness of the top surface of the cladding layers treated by different UIPs.

Fig. 11. The microhardness distribution of the cross section of the cladding layers treated by different UIPs: (a, b) UIP-0, (c, d) UIP-90 %.

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