Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Ferritic superalloys are an emerging group of materials that are based on the Fe-Al-Ni ternary system. In these materials, a coherent bcc-derived α/α′ (A2/B2) microstructure can be established, analogous to the fcc-based γ/γ′ (A1/L1$_2$) microstructure of Ni-base superalloys. With Fe as their base element ($\sim$ 50 at.%) and a high Al content ($\sim$ 18 at.%) these materials have a major cost advantage over Ni-base superalloys. A relatively high Cr content ($\sim$ 10 at.%) provides corrosion resistance. It has recently been reported that the addition of Ti facilitates the partial transformation of α′ into an L2$_1$ Heusler phase (based on Ni$_2$AlTi, henceforth referred to as α″) and significantly improves the creep resistance of these alloys. We will present our alloy development efforts which led to an an α′/α″-strengthened alloy that was additively manufactured via Laser Metal Deposition (LMD). In-situ synchrotron diffraction reveals insights into the complex phase transformation pathway through which a variety of different microstructures can be designed. The elemental partitioning behavior between the three phases is measured in TEM and APT. The high-temperature mechanical properties will be discussed on the basis of compressive and tensile tests as well as creep tests.
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