| Abstract Scope |
Nickel-based superalloys provide exceptional high temperature mechanical properties which enable a wide range of engineering applications from aerospace turbine engines to land-based industrial gas turbines used for energy production. Additive manufacturing (AM) is making major impacts across structural alloy application in these same industries, enabling supply chain resilience with distributed domestic manufacturing helping OEMs avoid massive lead times associated with legacy tooling. Additionally, AM opens new possibilities from a part performance perspective, both by enabling complex geometries that would be impossible with traditional manufacturing, and by enabling customizable parts that can replace assemblies, reducing system complexity. Inconel 718 (IN718) is a workhorse alloy in this space, however, the temperature range of application of IN718 is limited to ~700-750°C. For many aerospace and energy applications, the next generation of systems design is pushing the limits on temperature, requiring materials with resistance to these higher temperatures. Today, Waspaloy is widely for applications at ~750-850°C – beyond the limits of 718 and 718+. However, Waspaloy is notoriously difficult to print, with a propensity for strain age cracking. To enable a printable nickel-based superalloy with high temperature performance comparable to Waspaloy, this work focuses on co-precipitation strengthening from gamma prime (Ni3Al) and gamma double prime (Ni3Nb) nano-precipitates in a compact morphology by precisely designing the composition and process using integrated computational materials engineering (ICME). This compact morphology enables superior strength, creep resistance, and thermal stability with a lower total volume fraction of gamma prime, improving printability over other high temperature alloys with comparable properties. |