Optics and Lasers in Engineering 36 (2001) 269–276

Electrochemical response of laser surface melted

inconel 617 alloy
B.S. Yilbasa,*, M. Khaledb, M.A. Gondalc
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, P O Box 1913,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
b
CHEM Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia
c
Laser Research Section, Center for Applied Physical Sciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum and
Minerals, Saudi Arabia
Received 1 February 2001; accepted 1 May 2001

Abstract

Inconel 617 alloy has superior high temperature properties and finds application in thermal
systems. The alloying elements of chromium and molybdenum make the alloy resistant to
corrosion. In the present study, the corrosion properties of Inconel 617 alloy, after 37,000 h of
operation as a transition piece in the gas turbine engine, are examined. The workpiece surfaces
are treated using an Nd : YAG pulsed laser. The electrochemical tests are carried out in 0.1 N
H2SO4+0.05 N NaCl deairated aqueous solution at room temperature. It is found that the
laser treated workpieces result in improved corrosion rates. The locally scattered shallow pits
are observed at the workpiece surface after the electrochemical tests. r 2001 Elsevier Science
Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Inconel 617; Laser treatment; Corrosion properties

1. Introduction

Laser surface modification techniques that are used to improve the wear and
corrosion resistance of metals include transformation hardening, alloying, melting,
cladding, and particle injection. The selection of laser parameters depends on the
type of modification process. However, two parameters namely, pulse intensity and
pulse length are important in pulsed laser processing. In this case, high power

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +966-3-860-2540; fax: +966-3-860-2949.

E-mail address: bsyilbas@kfupm.edu.sa (B.S. Yilbas).

0143-8166/01/$ - see front matter r 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 1 4 3 - 8 1 6 6 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 5 0 - 1
270 B.S. Yilbas et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 36 (2001) 269–276

intensities and short interaction durations result in rapid heating and cooling rates,
which produce a shallow heat affected zone, low distortion of the workpiece, and
minimal deterioration of bulk parameters. Moreover, rapid solidification effects
produce refined and novel microstructures that result in improved properties. The
laser treatment of the surface improves the corrosion resistance of the substrate
material. In this case, the corrosion resistance could be improved either by rapidly
melting the surface and redistributing the constituents, or by alloying the surface
with a corrosion resistant alloy.
Considerable research studies were carried out to explore the laser surface
treatment process. The structural and tribological changes due to laser surface
modification of aluminum nitride coating were studied by Meneau et al. [1]. They
showed that a strong enhancement of wear resistance occurred when the overlapping
rate of laser spots was maximum in all directions at the surface. The influence of laser
surface melt-hardening conditions on residual stresses in thin plates was investigated
by Grum and Strum [2]. They indicated that after laser melt hardening, the residual
stress were, in all cases, of tensile type on the surface and then decreased to a depth
of 0.3–0.4 mm when they usually transformed into compressive stresses. The surface
modification of metals by high power lasers was studied by Damborenea [3]. He
demonstrated that high power laser could be used as powerful tools for surface
modification, in addition to established applications in welding, cutting, and drilling.
The surface modification and tribological behavior of titanium and titanium alloys
after YAG laser treatments were investigated by Langdale et al. [4]. They showed
different types of titanium oxides, which were formed in the surface region of the
substrate material after the laser treatment process. The crevice corrosion due to
laser surface treatment of aluminum alloys was studied by Fereira et al. [5]. They
showed that laser surface alloying of aluminum alloy with chromium produced
surfaces more resistant to localized corrosion than the substrate alloy.
Inconel 617 alloy is a super alloy with excellent high temperature mechanical
properties and finds wide use as high temperature components in thermal systems.
Inconel 617 alloy is a solid solution alloy with good corrosion resistance and an
exceptional combination of high temperature strength and oxidation resistance.
Considerable research studies were conducted to investigate the high temperature
properties of Inconel alloys. The microstructure and phase stability of Inconel 617
alloy was investigated by Mankins et al. [6]. They showed that the major phase
present in the alloy after exposure to temperatures in the range 649–10931C was
found to be M23C6. The phase precipitated as discrete particles and remained stable
at all temperatures. Morphological changes of carbides during creep and their effects
on the creep properties of Inconel 617 alloy at 10001C were studied by Kihara et al.
[7]. They indicated that the grain boundaries on which the carbides dissolved started
to migrate in the steady state creep region. The effects of thermal aging on the
microstructure and mechanical properties of Inconel 617 alloy were examined by
Kimball et al. [8]. They observed that the individual carbide particles were present in
the carbide stringers and isolated inter-granular carbides appeared to be increased
slightly in size. A metallurgical investigation of gas turbine transitions after long
periods of operation in the field was carried out by Swaminathan et al. [9]. They
 B.S. Yilbas et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 36 (2001) 269–276 271

showed that M22C6 participation and agglomeration at grain boundaries were

present after long periods of operation. The mechanical properties of Inconel 617
alloy after heat treatment at elevated temperatures was investigated by Ali et al. [10].
They showed that the microstructures and elemental composition of the alloy before
and after heat treatment changed and cavitations at grain boundaries was improved
after the heat treatment process. Seawater corrosion behavior of laser surface
modified Inconel 625 alloy was studied by Cooper et al. [11]. They indicated that to
minimize seawater corrosion of laser-modified surfaces, the microstructures had to
be homogenized and, while adding particulate material, dissolution and alloying had
to be avoided. Pitting corrosion of Inconel 600 alloy in chloride thiosulfate anion
solutions at low temperature was investigated by Ho and Yu [12]. They showed that
pit density and average pit depth increased with increasing concentrations of sodium
chloride and temperature of solution.
In the present study, laser surface treatment and corrosion properties of Inconel
617 alloy after 37,000 h of operation as a transition piece of a gas turbine engine are
investigated. The surface treatment of the workpiece is carried out using an
Nd : YAG laser. The electrochemical tests are conducted in 0.1 N H2SO4+0.05 N
NaCl aqueous solution at room temperature.

2. Experimental

The workpieces were prepared from the transition piece, which was used over
37,000 h in a gas turbine system. The workpieces were cut in sizes 20
30
2 mm3
(width, length, thickness). The elemental composition of the workpiece is given in
Table 1.
The laser treatment of workpieces was carried out using an Nd : YAG laser of
Quanta Ray model DCR 2A. The nominal laser output energy was 375 mJ and the
pulse length was about 10 ns with 20 Hz pulsating capability. The nominal unfocused
laser beam power was about 2.2
108 W/cm2.
All the workpieces of Inconel 617 were rinsed with acetone and benzene before
conducting the electrochemical tests, in which 0.1 N H2SO4+0.05 N NaCl was used
as an electrolytic solution. The electrochemical experiments were performed using an
EG&G PARC model 273 A Potentiostat–Galvanostat. The electrochemical cell
consisted of a three-electrode cell. An Ag/AgCl electrode was used as a reference
electrode. The working electrode was the Inconel 617. A platinum electrode of 1 cm2
was used as an auxiliary electrode. Tafel and linear polarization experiments were
conducted to determine the corrosion rates of Inconel 617 workpieces.

Table 1
Chemical composition of Inconel 617 alloy (wt%)

Ni Cr Co Mo Al C Fe Mn Si S Ti Cu

Balance 22 12.5 9 1.2 0.07 1.5 0.5 0.5 0.008 0.3 0.2
272 B.S. Yilbas et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 36 (2001) 269–276

3. Discussions

The electrochemical response of the laser surface treated Inconel 617 alloy is
investigated. The workpieces were prepared from the transition-piece, which was
used over 37,000 in the gas turbine system. The over usage of alloy resulted in
microstructure changes as reported in the previous study [10], i.e. carbides are
formed and local cavitations are observed at grain boundaries.
Fig. 1 shows the potentiodynamic curves of untreated and laser surface treated
Inconel 617 alloy scanned at 0.166 mV/s. The corrosion potential of the laser treated
workpiece is shifted around 40 mV in the noble direction as compared to the
untreated workpiece, implying a higher thermodynamical stability at the open circuit
potential. The passive film of the laser treated specimen is formed at higher current
density and extends over a larger potential compared to the untreated workpiece.
However, the current density of the untreated workpiece decays to a lower current
value indicating the formation of a more stable passive oxide film. However, this film
is not very stable. It breaks up at 700 mV and then oscillates indicating a zone of
active dissolution of the passive film. In the laser treated workpiece, the passive
region is reached at lower current density and remained lower than the passive
current of the untreated workpiece except for the region between 200 and 500 mV.
The laser treated workpiece does not show current oscillations at higher potential
indicating a more homogeneous and protecting film structure. Calculation of the

Fig. 1. Polarization curves for laser treated and untreated workpieces.

 B.S. Yilbas et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 36 (2001) 269–276 273

corrosion rates from the Tafel plots and linear polarization are given in Table 2. The
corrosion rate of the laser treated workpiece was found to be 0.0633 mm/yr
compared to 0.770 mm/yr for the untreated workpiece. Hence, laser treatment
enhances the corrosion protection by a factor of ten approximately. As the potential
is increased, a region of passive current is reached but at higher current density than
the untreated workpieces. This means that untreated surface results in the
dissolution processes from the oxide film into the solution. Hence, long period of
usage of the untreated alloy results in deficiencies of corrosion protection of alloying
elements in the surface region, which in turn increases the susceptibility to corrosion.
Fig. 2 shows SEM micrograph of pit site while Fig. 3 shows the pit cross-section.
It can be observed that no specific pattern of pit sites is evident at the surface. The
coverage area of pit site increases in the case of untreated workpiece surface. This
occurs because of the depletion of chromium in the surface region of the untreated
workpieces. In the case of Fig. 3, the pit depth is shallow and pit aspect ratio (width
to depth) is high. In this case, elongated pit geometry is resulted due to activation of
the secondary pitting in the region close to the initial pit site. Pits are partially
covered with some corrosion products. Moreover, EDS results indicate that the
corrosion products in the pit site are mainly nickel, chromium and iron; however,
chromium content is less in the pit site as compared to its counterpart corresponding
to the unaffected matrix.

4. Conclusions

The electrochemical response of the laser treated Inconel 617 alloy after 37,000 h
of operation in the filed is investigated. The laser treatment is carried out using an
Nd : YAG laser. Electrochemical tests are carried out in 0.1 N H2SO4+0.05 N NaCl
aqueous electrolytic solution. It is found that the laser surface treatment improves
the corrosion resistance of the alloy and a long period of operation results in partial
degradation of the alloy elements at the surface. The specific conclusions derived
from the present study can be listed as follows

1. The electrochemical tests for the laser treated surface prevails that the passive
region is reached at lower current density and remained lower than the passive
current of the untreated workpiece. Moreover, laser treated surface does not show

Table 2
Tafel and Linear polarization results

Inconel 617 EðI ¼ 0Þ Cathodic Anodic Corrosion Polarization Corrosion rate

specimen (mV) Tafel (V) Tafel (V) current (mA) resistance (mm/yr)
(kO)

Untreated 0.152 2.00 0.122 31.71 1.20 0.770

Laser treated 0.111 0.127 0.256 2.612 10.0 0.0633
274 B.S. Yilbas et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 36 (2001) 269–276

Fig. 2. The workpiece surface after electrochemical test.

current oscillation at higher potential, i.e. more homogeneous and protecting film
structure is formed. The Tafel and linear polarization results indicates that the
laser treated workpiece has an improved corrosion resistance.
2. Pit size and density increase in the case of untreated workpiece surface. No
specific pattern of pit distribution is observed. Pits are shallow with high aspect
ratios (pit width to pit depth ratio), i.e. elongated pit geometry is resulted due to
the activation of secondary pitting at the initial pit site.
 B.S. Yilbas et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 36 (2001) 269–276 275

Fig. 3. The cross-section of a pit.

3. The analysis of corrosion products in the pit site prevails that corrosion product
contains mainly nickel, chromium and iron, provided that the amount of these
elements in the pit site is less than those corresponding to the original matrix.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of King Fahd University of Petroleum and
Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, for this work.

References

[1] Meneau C, Andreazza P, Andreazza-Vignolle C, Goudeau P, Villian JP. Boulmer–Leborgne C, laser

surface modification: structural and tribological studies of AIN coatings. Surf Coating Technol
1998;100–101:12–6.
[2] Grum J, Sturm R. Influence of laser surface melt-hardening conditions on residual stresses in thin
plates. Surf Coating Technol 1998;100–101:455–8.
[3] Damborenea J. Surface modification of metals by high power lasers. Surf Coating Technol 1998;100–
101:377–82.
[4] Langdale C, Vannes AB, Krafft JM, Martin JR. Surface modification and tribological behaviour of
titanium and titanium alloys after YAG-laser treatments. Surf Coating Technol 1998;100–101:383–7.
[5] Ferreira MGS, Li R, Villar R. Avoiding crevice corrosion by laser surface treatment. Corros Sci
1996;12:2091–4.
[6] Mankins WL, Hosier JC, Bassford TH. Microstructure and phase stability of Inconel alloy 617.
Metall Trans A 1974;5:2580–90.
276 B.S. Yilbas et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 36 (2001) 269–276

[7] Kihara S, Newkirk JB, Ohtomo A, Saiga Y. Morphological changes of carbides during creep and
their effects on the creep properties of Inconel 617 at 10001C. Metall Trans A 1980;11:1019–31.
[8] Kimball OF, Lai GY, Reynolds GH. Effects of thermal aging on the microstructure and mechanical
properties of a commercial Inconel 617. Metall Trans A 1976;7:1951–2.
[9] Swanimathan VP, Owens HB, Hicks N. Evaluation of gas turbine transitions after 20,000 and
37,000 h of service. International Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress and Exposition, Cologne,
Germany, June 1–2, 1992.
[10] Ali KMA, Hashmi MSJ, and Yilbas BS. Fatigue properties of refurbished Inco-617 alloy.
Proceedings of the International Conference on Advances in Materials and Processing Technologies,
AMPT’98, p. 963–9, Dublin, Ireland, 3–6 August 1999.
[11] Cooper KP, Slebodnick P, Thomas ED. Seawater corrosion of laser surface modified Inconel 625
alloy. Mater Sci Eng 1996;A206:138–49.
[12] Ho JT, Yu GP. Pitting corrosion of Inconel 600 in chloride and thiosulfate anion solutions at low
temperature. Corrosion 1992;48:147–56.