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Mechanical performance of laser metal deposited alloy 718

Alloy 718 is a well-established material with applications in many areas of modern and established aeroengine designs. Alloy 718 components can be very large, presenting opportunities for considerable savings in both repair and additive manufacture through the use of laser metal deposition (LMD).

As part of its Core Research Programme, TWI undertook a programme of work to address the industrial needs for performance data of LMD alloy 718, and to optimise process parameters on the basis of performance as opposed to metallurgical quality.

Sample production

Rectangular blocks of alloy 718 were deposited on 316L stainless steel plates using a Huffman HC-205 laser cladding machine (Fig. 1). Samples were subjected to a direct two-stage heat treatment.

Following process optimisation, two parameters were developed for investigation: high energy input (HEI) and low energy input (LEI).

Wrought alloy 718 was also used to provide a benchmark for tensile and fatigue testing. The material was solution heat treated at 980°C before being subjected to the same two-stage ageing process used for the LMD samples.

Fig. 1 Test samples produced using HEI parameters
Fig. 1 Test samples produced using HEI parameters

Performance evaluation

A series of tests was performed including tensile testing in air under ambient and elevated temperature (630°C), fatigue testing in air under ambient conditions and creep rupture testing at 630°C.

Tensile testing found that the LEI samples gave the highest proof strength under both ambient (~1040MPa) and elevated temperature (~827MPa) conditions.

Compared to wrought at ambient temperature (~1221MPa), a reduction in proof stress by a factor of 1.17 for LEI and 1.21 for HEI was observed.

Fatigue endurance data, plotted in the form of an S-N diagram, showed that LEI samples gave a better fatigue performance than HEI with average lives 2x105 to 4.5x105 cycles greater for a given stress range.

A mean line through each test series was compared at 106 cycles. Wrought material gave the highest fatigue strength at 720MPa followed by LEI (525MPa) and HEI (435MPa) (Fig. 2).

The reduction in tensile and fatigue performance as compared to the fully aged wrought material may be due to over-ageing in the deposits due to multiple thermal cycles during deposition, prior to the double ageing post-weld heat treatment.

Creep rupture testing found that the performance of LEI samples was comparable with published data for alloy 718 aged at 649°C. HEI samples gave a slightly higher rupture life by a factor of 1.62 on endurance (hrs) at a stress of 690MPa.

The slightly better creep rupture performance of HEI samples was probably due to a coarser grain structure.

To find out more about TWI’s Integrity Management services, please email contactus@twi.co.uk.

Fig. 2 Fatigue test results
Fig. 2 Fatigue test results
Avatar Matthew Doré Technology Fellow - Structural Integrity of Materials

Dr Matthew Doré joined TWI in 2000, where since 2017 he managed the Fatigue and Fracture Integrity section until his appointment as Technology Fellow in 2024. He serves on internationally recognised bodies, including as a Main Committee Member of BSI WEE/37 (BS 7910), as the UK National Delegate on the International Institute of Welding (IIW) Commission XIII,  and as Chair of the bodies for BSI WEE/37-3 (Fatigue) and BSI WEE/37-9 (BS 7608). He has also chaired several international conferences and delivered keynote presentations and workshops around the world.

Matthew has supervised and supported 13 PhD students and has had over 20 scientific articles published, including peer-reviewed journal publications in the areas of fatigue design, fracture mechanics, and additive manufacturing. His area of expertise as Technology Fellow is Structural Integrity of Metallic Materials.

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