NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, TIRUCHIRAPPALLI

Defect Analysis and Characterisation of Additive Manufactured

Inconel 718

Project in Guidance of Presented by:

Dr. Joy Prakash das Himanshu Saini
Dr. Mallikarjuna M.Tech NDT
 Inconel 718 History and Use
• Ni based superalloy
• Developed by international Nickel Company
• Inconel 718 (IN718) was firstly designed and introduce to overcome the poor weldability of superalloys in
1960s.
• The term “superalloy” refers to the high-temperature metallic materials which are employed in the extremely
hot temperature and heavy load.
• Superalloy are used in extreme condition still show excellent resistance to mechanical and chemical
degradation at temperatures close to their melting points.
• IN718 has high strength, good weldability and fabricability. This combination makes it suitable candidate for
high temperature application.
• Also used in engine of SR-71 in 1960
• Beyond these original and still major high temperature applications, IN718 is also being used as a generic alloy
in nuclear, oil and gas industries and cryogenic structures due to its excellent strength and aqueous corrosion
resistance at ambient and low temperature.

RETENTION OF HIGH STRENGTH AT TEMPERATURE RANGING FROM

450°C to 700°C
 IN718 composition per Aerospace Material Specifications (AMS) 5383
Element wt.%
Ni 50-55
Cr 17-21
Fe 15-22
Mo 2.80-3.30
Ti 0.65-1.15
Al 0.20-0.80
Co 1.00 max
C 0.08 max
Mg 0.35 max
Si 0.35 max
P 0.015 max
S 0.015 max
B 0.006 max
Cu 0.30 max
 PHASES PRESENT IN IN718

PHASE COMPOSITION CRYSTAL STRUCTURE

MC Nb(TiMo)C FCC
M6C Mo(Ni)6C FCC
Laves (FeNiCr)2(NbMoTiSi) HEXAGONAL
γ‘’ Ni3(NbAlTi) BCT
γ' Ni3(AlTiNb) FCC
δ Ni3Nb ORTHORHOMBIC
• Inconel 718, a FCC solid solution of Ni, Cr and Fe (y, the matrix)
• It is strengthened primarily by the coherent strains produced in its matrix by y" and
y' phases.
• y" is the main strengthening phase having a BCT crystal structure of the type Ni3V. It
is a solid solution rich in Nb having a formula Ni3(NbAITi) .
• while y' has a FCC structure and is rich in Al having a formula Ni3(AITiNb).
• From TTT diagram, y" and y' phases being metastable, transform to orthorhombic
Ni3Nb (δ) phase at higher temperatures.
• The δ phase being incoherent with y, weakens the alloy. However it helps in
preventing grain growth by pinning the grain boundaries during forging.
• The y" and y' phases have distinctly different morphologies which help in their easy
identification,
• y" precipitates are round shaped and about 20 nm in size.
• y' precipitates are disc like with an aspect ratio of 5-6.
• δ phase is mostly found as plates growing on the (111) planes or found nucleating
on the grain boundaries.
• The other phases which are found in Inconel 718 include carbides like Nb(Ta)C, TiC and M6C, TiN, Laves
and sigma.
• The Nb(Ta)C, TiC and TiN phases are inert
• Laves and sigma phases are brittle intermetallic detrimental to mechanical properties.
• These phases offer an ideal plate like morphology for easy initiation and propagation of fracture.
• Moreover they take away Nb from the matrix and hinder effective y" precipitation from occurring.
• Added to these undesirable features, these phases produce incipient melting and porosity during high
temperature processing as they have a lower melting point than the matrix.
• They have a crystal structure characterized by close packed layers of atoms separated from one another
by relatively large interatomic distances.
• The Laves phase is a size effect intermetallic and has a chemical formula given by (FeNiCr)2(NbTi). The
atoms of Fe, Ni and Cr are smaller and enable better packing with larger atoms of Nb and Ti.
• The occurrence of a and M6C phases are attributed to high Si levels of the alloy and high temperature
homogenisation treatments employed.
• But these phases are not found in the currently manufactured Inconel 718 alloys because of controlled Si
contents and lower homogenisation temperatures.
T-T-T DIAGRAM
• The segregation of Nb during solidification is the single most important event which influences the stability of phases
present in Inconel 718
• The extent of segregation during ingot or casting solidification is dependent on the rate of cooling; with faster cooling
rates, lesser segregation can be achieved
• The solidification begins at about 1360°C with the formation of Nb, Ti and Mo lean austenitic dendrites as they are
rejected into the interdendritic regions.
• Concentration of Nb, Ti and Mo leads to the formation of the thermodynamically and structurally stable phases like NbC,
TiN and Laves phases in the interdendritic regions.
• The solidification terminates at about 1180°C with the formation of a y/Laves eutectic constituent.
• Upon further cooling, the delta phase forms which contains about 6 - 8 % Nb at about 1050°C, followed by y" precipitation
which contains about 4 % Nb in the range 950 - 700°C. Finally y' precipitates at about 750°C at Nb concentrations < 4%.
• The Laves phase, as found in cast condition, should be solutionised prior to subsequent processing or use as it is
detrimental to the mechanical properties of 718.
• To achieve this, prolonged soaking in the temperature range 1065 -1080°C is recommended.
• For effective utilisation of 718 as a structural material in the temperature range 450 - 700°C, it is important that the
strengthening phases y" and y' be stable at these temperatures. The stability of these phases is dependent on the % of
Nb.
• At temperatures above 800°C and after prolonged exposure for about 1000 hours at 700°C, the formation of delta phase
at the expense of y" and y' phases which results drop in mechanical properties.
DEFECT ANALYSIS USING COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY AND SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE
OF SLM PRINTED IN 718

• With the rapid advancements in additive manufacturing (AM) technology, selective laser melting (SLM) has become
an important manufacturing technique after forging/casting and machining.
• SLM is a cutting-edge manufacturing technique, which employs a high-density laser to melt powders (and later
solidify naturally) layer by layer according to the 2D slices obtained from actual 3D models.
• Computed Tomography( CT) is a powerful non-destructive evaluation technique for producing 2-D and 3-D cross-
sectional images of an object from flat X-ray images. Characteristics of the internal structure of an object such as
dimensions, shape, internal defects, and density are readily available from CT images. Shown below is a schematic
of a CT system.
• The scanning electron microscope (SEM) uses a focused beam of high-energy electrons to generate a variety of
signals at the surface of solid specimens. The signals that derive from electron sample interaction reveal
information about the sample including external morphology (texture), chemical composition, and crystalline
structure and orientation of materials making up the sample.
 Fig: CT images of sample; (a) 3D image (b) 2D image [3]

Fig: SEM images; (a) at 40x magnification (b) at 250x magnification [3]
 REFERENCES
[1] B G Muralidharan, V Shankar and T.P.S. Gill, “Weldability of Inconel 718-A Review”, Indira Gandhi Centre For
Atomic Research Kalpakkam, Department Of Atomic Energy, Government of India, 1996.

[2] Dunyong Deng, “Additively Manufactured Inconel 718 ： Microstructures and Mechanical Properties”,
Linköping Studies in Science and Technology Licentiate Thesis No.1798, 2018.

[3] Zhiwei Luo, Zekun Wang, Zhenyu Yan, Jing Chen , Shuguang Li, and Moubin Liu, “Formation of defects in
selective laser melted Inconel 718 and its correlation with mechanical properties through dimensionless
numbers”, Sci. China-Phys. Mech. Astron. 65, 254611, 2022

[4] IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY, Center Of NonDestructive Evaluation

https://www.nde-ed.org/NDETechniques/Radiography/TechCalibrations/radiographicTestingStandards.xhtml
THANK YOU