The influence of microstructural heterogeneities on high-temperature mechanical properties of additively manufactured γ'-forming Ni-based alloys

Additive manufacturing (AM) of metallic materials yields distinctive hierarchical and heterogeneous microstructures owing to the complex thermal conditions during the build-up process. Consequently, the knowledge gained from creep properties of conventionally manufactured (CM) Ni-based alloys cannot be directly applied to AM-processed alloys. Furthermore, insufficient creep life has posed a significant challenge in the development of Ni-based superalloys fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), one of the most important AM techniques. Nevertheless, limited research has been conducted to understand their creep behavior due to the time-consuming nature of creep testing and extended research cycles. This study delves into investigating the creep behavior of an additively manufactured, precipitation-strengthened Ni-based alloy (NiCrAl) in comparison to its CM counterpart, focusing on the structure-property relationships. Constant-load creep tests were conducted at temperatures of 750 °C and 950 °C up to a maximum duration of nearly 1500 h. Although both the AM and CM states demonstrated high creep activation energy and creep exponents, indicative of a dislocation climb mechanism, the AM state demonstrated inferior creep life and ductility compared to the CM state for creep times below 500 h. To gain deeper insights into the underlying mechanisms, multi-scale microstructural characterization was performed to understand the effect of the AM-inherent microstructure. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the creep behavior of Alloy 699XA after AM and CM processes, emphasizing the significance of AM-specific microstructural heterogeneities.