Hot deformation behaviors of a typical nickel-based superalloy are investigated by isothermal compression tests under the deformation temperature range of 920-1040 OC and strain rate range of 0.001-0.1 s-1. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) technique and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are employed to study the evolution of hot deformed microstructures. It is found that the fraction of low angle grain boundaries decreases with the increase of deformation temperature or the decrease of strain rate. This is related to the decrease of dynamic recrystallization degree under the low deformation temperature or high strain rate. The fraction of low angle grain boundaries shows a rapid increase at the relatively small deformation degree, and then a significant decrease due to the progress of dynamic recrystallization (DRX). The microstructural changes indicate that both continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) take place during hot deformation. However, the small fraction of low angle boundaries with 10-15o misorientation indicates that the CDRX plays a minor role on the nucleation of dynamic recrystallization. Discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) characterized by grain boundary bulging is the dominant nucleation mechanism for the studied superalloy.

Hot deformation behavior of an aged inconel 718 superalloy is investigated by isothermal compression tests over wide ranges of strain rate and deformation temperature. In this study, the effects of hot deformation parameters (deformation temperature and strain rate) on flow stress are analyzed. It is found that the flow stress of the studied superalloy is significantly affected by deformation temperature and strain rate. The flow stress decreases with the decrease of strain rate or the increase of deformation temperature. Based on the experimental results, a new constitutive model is developed to describe the hot deformation behavior. For the work hardening-dynamic recovery stage, an isotropic internal variable is used to represent the plastic deformation resistance, and a viscoplastic constitutive model is developed to describe the work hardening and dynamic recovery behavior. For the dynamic softening stage, the phenomenological constitutive models, which consider the coupled effects of deformation temperature, strain rate and strain on hot deformation behavior, are developed. The predicted flow stresses are in a good agreement with the experimental ones, indicating that the developed models can accurately characterize the hot deformation behavior of the studied Ni-based superalloy.

The hot compressive behaviors of a typical Ni-based superalloy are investigated by hot compression tests under the strain rates of 0.001–1 s?1 and deformation temperatures of 920–1040 °C. It is found that the dynamic recrystallization is the main softening mechanism for the studied superalloy during hot deformation. The deformation temperature and strain rate have a significant influence on the dynamically recrystallized grain size. Based on the experimental results, an inverse power law equation is established to describe the relationship between the dynamically recrystallized grain size and the steady-state flow stress. A cellular automaton model with probabilistic state switches is established to simulate the dynamic recrystallization behaviors of the studied superalloy. The flow stress and the dynamically recrystallized grain size can be well predicted by the established model. Then, the dynamic recrystallization kinetic and the evolutions of the average grain size and grain boundary fraction are studied based on the simulated results. The simulated results show that the dynamic recrystallization is initially heterogeneous, and gradually becomes homogeneous with the increase of the volume fraction of dynamic recrystallization. With the increase of strain, the average grain size decreases, while the grain boundary fraction increases. Furthermore, the average grain size and the grain boundary fraction remain relatively constant when the deformation is under a steady state.

Hot compressive tests of a nickel-based superalloy are performed under the strain rate range of 0.001–1 s?1 and deformation temperature range of 920–1040 °C. Optical microscopy (OM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are employed to investigate the evolution of dynamic recrystallized (DRX) grain and dislocation substructure. It is found that the effects of deformation degree, strain rate and deformation temperature on DRX grain are significant. When the deformation degree or temperature is increased, the number of DRX grains rapidly increases. But, the increase of strain rate reduces the number of DRX grains. The dislocation substructure is also very sensitive to the deformation degree, strain rate and deformation temperature. With the increase of deformation degree, the evolution of dislocation substructure can be characterized as: high dislocation density → dislocation network → subgrain → DRX grain. Under high deformation temperatures or low strain rates, the dislocation substructure can be easily annihilated and rearranged because of the occurrence of DRX. Based on the evaluated DRX volume fractions, the contour map is constructed to optimize the hot deformation parameters.

Hot compressive deformation behaviors of the aged nickel-based superalloy are studied under the deformation temperature range of 920-1040 oC and strain rate range of 0.001-1 1/s. Based on the experimental data, the processing maps are developed and correlated with the deformed microstructures of the studied nickel-based superalloy. The effects of initial aging time on the processing map and microstructures are discussed in detail. It is found that the processing map and microstructures are sensitive to the initial aging time. When the initial aging time is shorter than 12 h, the spherical and short needle-shaped δ phases can stimulate the occurrence of dynamic recrystallization and improve the hot workability, as well as decrease the final forging temperature of the studied nickel-based superalloy. However, when the initial aging time is increased to 24 h, the excessive long needle-shaped δ phases appear and become the potential locations of wedge cracking, which easily leads to flow instability during hot deformation. The aged superalloy under 900 oC for 9 h or 12 h is suitable for the hammer forging process. The optimum deformation parameters for hammer forging process are 1010-1040 oC and 0.1-1 1/s. The aged superalloy under 900 oC for 9 h can be used for the conventional die forging. Furthermore, the forging temperature should be controlled in the range of 980-1040 oC, and the strain rate should be lower than 0.1 1/s. The solution-treated superalloy or the aged superalloy under 900 oC for 6 h or 9 h is suitable for the isothermal die forging, and the optimum hot deformation parameters is 980-1040 oC and near 0.001 1/s.

Creep-aging forming, combining both the aging treatment and forming process, has recently drawn much attention of researchers. In this study, the effects of creep-aging processing on the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of a typical Al-Cu-Mg alloy are investigated by electrochemical corrosion, exfoliation corrosion and uniaxial tensile experiments. The results show that the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of the studied Al-Cu-Mg alloy are strongly sensitive to the creep-aging processing parameters. The creep-aging processing can change the dimension and density of nanoprecipitates, which greatly affects the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of the studied Al-Cu-Mg alloy. With the increase of creep-aging temperature, the corrosion resistance and the elongation decrease, while the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength increase. For the materials creep-aged in “under aging” and “peak aging” conditions, the applied stress can increase the ultimate tensile strength, but deteriorate the corrosion resistance.

The hot tensile deformation behaviors and fracture characteristics of a typical Ni-based superalloy are studied by uniaxial tensile tests under the deformation temperature range of 920-1040 oC and strain rate range of 0.01-0.001 1/s. Effects of deformation parameters on the flow behavior, microstructural evolution and fracture characteristics are discussed in detail. The results show that the flow behaviors are significantly affected by the deformation temperature, strain and strain rate. Under relatively low deformation temperatures (920, 950 and 980 oC), the flow curves are composed of three distinct stages, i.e., work hardening, steady stress and flow softening stages. The flow curves show the typical DRX characteristics under relatively high deformation temperatures (1010 and 1040 oC). With the increase of deformation temperature or the decrease of strain rate, the fraction of recrystallized grains increases. The synthetical effects of localized necking and microvoid coalescence cause the fracture of the studied superalloy under all the deformation conditions. δ phase and carbides are the nucleus for the formation of microvoids. Also, δ phase plays an important role in the coalescence of microvoids.

The dynamic recrystallization (DRX) behavior of a typical nickel-based superalloy is investigated by the hot compression tests. Based on the conventional DRX kinetics model, the volume fractions of DRX are firstly estimated. Results show that there is an obvious deviation between the experimental and predicted volume fractions of DRX when the forming temperature is below 980 oC , which is induced by the slow dynamic recrystallization rate under low forming temperatures. Therefore, the segmented models are proposed to describe the kinetics of DRX for the studied superalloy. Comparisons between the experimental and predicted results indicate that the proposed segmented models can give an accurate and precise estimation of the volume fractions of DRX for the studied superalloy. In addition, the optical observation of the deformed microstructure confirms that the dynamically recrystallized grain size can be well characterized by a power function of Zener-Hollumon parameter.

Uniaxial tensile tests of a typical Ni-based superalloy are conducted under the deformation temperature range of 920-1010 oC and strain rate range of 0.01-0.001 1/s. The effects of initial δ phase ( ) on the hot tensile deformation behaviors and fracture characteristics are discussed in detail. The results show that: (1) For the studied Ni-based superalloy with a large amount of δ phase, the flow stress curves are composed of three distinct stages, i.e., work hardening stage, flow softening stage and the final fracture stage. (2) The initial δ phase has significant effects on the deformation behaviors of the studied superalloy. δ phase can cause the obvious work hardening at the beginning of hot deformation, and then accelerates the flow softening by promoting the dynamic recrystallization with further straining. With the increase of initial δ phase, the strain rate sensitivity coefficient decreases firstly and then increases. (3) The combined effects of localized necking and microvoid coalescence cause the final fracture of specimens. The increase of initial δ phase increases the density of nucleus for the formation of microvoids, and promotes the nucleation and coalescence of microvoids.

The hot compressive deformation behaviors of a typical Ni-based superalloy are investigated over wide ranges of forming temperature and strain rate. Based on the experimental data, the efficiencies of power dissipation and instability parameters are evaluated and processing maps are developed to optimize the hot working processing. The microstructures of the studied Ni-based superalloy are analyzed to correlate with the processing maps. It can be found that the flow stress is sensitive to the forming temperature and strain rate. With the increase of forming temperature or the decrease of strain rate, the flow stress significantly decreases. The changes of instability domains may be related to the adiabatic shear bands and the evolution of δ phase during the hot formation. Three optimum hot deformation domains for different forming processes (ingot cogging, conventional die forging and isothermal die forging) are identified, which are validated by the microstructural features and adiabatic shear bands. The optimum window for the ingot cogging processing is identified as the temperature range of 1010-1040 oC and strain rate range of 0.1-1 1/s. The temperature range of 980-1040 and strain rate range of 0.01-0.1 1/s can be selected for the conventional die forging. Additionally, the optimum hot working domain for the isothermal die forging is 1010-1040 oC and near/below 0.001 1/s.