Evaluating the Effect of Ta/W Ratio on Microstructure and Stress Rupture Properties of Ni-Based Single Crystal Superalloy PWA1483

In this study, the effect of Ta/W ratio on the microstructure and stress rupture properties of Ni-based single crystal (SX) superalloy PWA1483 was investigated. For this purpose, single crystal (SX) superalloys with different Ta/W ratios (0.75, 1.0, 1.32 and 1.5 in wt.%) were fabricated. The alloys were directionally solidified by Bridgman method under the same solidification condition at withdrawal velocity of 3 mm/min and thermal gradient of about 7 K/mm followed by standard age hardening heat treatment. Microstructural characterization was performed using optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The stress rupture properties were investigated at 982 °C and 248 MPa. The results showed that increasing the Ta/W ratio decreases the size and volume fraction of micro-pores together with the size of γchr('39') precipitates. Hence, the stress rupture life increased. The superalloy with Ta/W ratio of 1.5 showed the minimum size of micro-porosity (18.2 μm) and the maximum stress rupture life (~34 h). The superalloy with Ta/W ratio of 1 showed the most uniform microstructure and creep behavior. It seems that the presence of topologically closed packed (TCP) η-phases is the main reason for stress rupture life decrease in SX superalloy as micro-pores initiated from TCP phases or the TCP/matrix interfaces.