Iron–Nickel superalloys

• Iron–nickel superalloys are used in gas turbine engines for their

structural properties and low thermal expansion at high
temperature.

•Iron–Nickel alloys
• (a)expand less than nickel or cobalt superalloys at high temperature,
which is an important material property for engine components
requiring closely controlled clearances between rotating parts.
• (b) are generally less expensive than nickel- and cobalt-based
superalloys, which is another advantage.
• The main uses for iron–nickel alloys in jet engines are blades, discs
and casings.
• The composition of several iron–nickel alloys used in jet
engines is given in Table 12.3, and most contain 15–60% iron
and 25–45% nickel.

• Iron–nickel superalloys are hardened by:

• (A) Solid solution strengthening and

• (B) Precipitation strengthening.

•
• The precipitates are similar to those present in nickel-based
superalloys, and include
1. Ni3(Al,Ti),
2. (Ni3Nb) and
3. Various types of carbides and carbonitrides

The precipitates provide iron–nickel alloys with good resistance

against creep and stress rupture at elevated temperature.
 EFFECT OF ALLOYING ELEMENTS
(i)Boron and zirconium
• These elements that partition to grain boundaries and
hence grain-boundary fracture is suppressed under creep
rupture conditions, resulting in significant increases in
rupture life.

• Boron in quantities of 0.003 to 0.03 wt% and, less

frequently, small additions of zirconium are added to
improve stress rupture properties and hot workability.

• Zirconium also forms the MC carbide ZrC.

• (ii) Niobium
• Niobium forms MC carbide, NbC, is found in alloys that contain niobium,
such as Inconel 706 and Inconel 718.

• (iii)VANADIUM
• Vanadium is added in small quantities to iron nickel alloys to improve both
notch ductility at service temperatures and hot workability.
• Vanadium is beneficial in Fe-based superalloys due to its carbide-forming
ability and solid solution strengthening.

• However, in Ni-based superalloys, it is avoided because it does not

contribute to γ' strengthening, diffuses rapidly, and can degrade alloy
properties at high temperatures.
• (iv) MANGANESE & RARE EARTH
• Manganese and rare earth elements may be present
as deoxidizers;
• Rare earths have been added to improve oxidation
resistance
• (V) TITANIUM AND ALUMINIUM
• Alloys that are strengthened by ordered fcc γ', such as V-57 and
A-286, and contain 25 to 35 wt% Ni, represent one subgroup.

• The γ' phase is titanium-rich in these alloys, and care must be

taken to avoid an excessively high titanium-to aluminum ratio,
resulting in the replacement of fcc γ' by hexagonal close-packed
(hcp) γ (Ni3Ti), a less effective strengthener

• In general Aluminium, niobium and carbon are used as alloying

elements to promote the formation of hard intermetallic
precipitates or carbides that are stable at high temperature.
(III)Cobalt-based superalloy
• Cobalt-based superalloys are materials used in high temperature and
extreme environments with excellent high temperature strength,
corrosion resistance and wear resistance.

• Cobalt-based superalloys are mainly composed of elements such as

cobalt, chromium, tungsten, nickel and aluminum
• Cobalt crystallizes
• (A)in the HCP structure below 417 °C.
• (B) At higher temperatures, it transforms to FCC

• To avoid this transformation during service, virtually all

cobalt-base alloys are alloyed with nickel in order to
stabilize the fcc structure between room temperature and
the melting point.
• In cobalt-based superalloys, cobalt is the most important matrix
element, which brings good high-temperature performance, welding
performance and other advantages to the alloy. The cobalt content
in cobalt-based superalloys is generally 35% to 70%.
 ADVANTAGES OF COBALT BASED SUPERALLOY
• (i)Cobalt-base alloys display superior hot corrosion resistance at
high temperatures, probably a consequence of the considerably
higher chromium contents that are characteristic of these alloys.

• It increases the operating life and reduces the maintenance of

engine parts

• Cobalt alloys generally have better hot-corrosion resistance than

nickel-based and iron–nickel alloys in hot atmospheres containing
lead oxides, sulfur and other compounds produced from the
combustion of jetfuel.
• (ii)Cobalt-base alloys generally exhibit better
weldability and thermal-fatigue resistance than do
nickel-base alloys.
•
• (iii)They can be melted in air or argon, in contrast to
the vacuum melting required for nickel-base and
iron-nickel-base alloys containing the reactive metals
aluminum and titanium.
•
• Cobalt superalloys contain about
• 30–60% cobalt,
• 10–35% nickel,
• 20–30% chromium,
• 5–10% tungsten, and less than 1% carbon.
• The composition of some cobalt alloys used in jet
engine components is given in Table 12.4.
•Wrought cobalt-base alloys, unlike
other superalloys, are not
strengthened by a coherent,
ordered precipitate. Rather, they
are characterized by
•(A)a solid solution strengthened
austenitic (FCC) matrix in which
•(B) a small quantity of carbides is
distributed.
 EFFECT OF ALLOYING ELEMENTS
• (I) TITANIUM
• Titanium additions also have been made in order to precipitate coherent,
ordered Co3Ti as a strengthening phase. Unfortunately, this phase is stable
only to about 700 °C (1290 °F), which is much lower than for γ' Ni3Al, Ti in
Ni-base alloys.

• (II) CARBIDE FORMERS(Cr,Mo,W)

• As in the case of nickel-base alloys, a variety of carbides have been found in
cobalt alloys. These include M23C6, M6C, and MC carbides. In both L-605 and
Haynes 188, M6C transforms into M23C6 during exposure to temperatures in
the range of 816 to 927 °C for 3000 h.
• Chromium, added primarily for oxidation and hot corrosion resistance.
• (iv) Intermetallics (W,Al,Ti,Ta,Nb)
• In addition to carbides, small quantities of intermetallic phases
such as Co3W, Co2W, and Co7W6 have been found in L- 605.
Other alloys display the compounds CoAl, Co3Ti, and Co2(Ta,
Nb, Ti).

• In addition tungsten exert the opposite hcp stabilizing

tendency and added primarily for solid-solution
strengthening,
 Co7W6 and Co2(Ta, Nb, Ti) are TCP phases
that are likely to cause the deterioration of
mechanical properties.
• However, comparison between nickel and cobalt
alloys must be treated with some caution because
there are wide differences in hot corrosion
resistance within each group of superalloys.
• That is, certain nickel superalloys also have excellent
resistance against hot corrosion. Cobalt alloys also
have good stress rupture properties, although not as
good as precipitation-hardened nickel-based alloys
(Fig. 12.6).
Microstructure

Cobalt alloys are based on an FCC matrix obtained by

alloying with 10% or more nickel.
• Iron, manganese, and carbon additions also stabilize
the FCC phase, while nickel and iron additions
improve workability.
• However, unlike nickel-base alloys, which have a high
tolerance for alloying elements in solid solution,
cobalt-base alloys are more likely to precipitate
undesirable plate-like σ, and TCP phases.
• The precipitates that form in cobalt alloys do not
provide the same large improvement in high-
temperature strength as nickel alloys and, for this
reason, the resistance of cobalt alloys against creep
and stress rupture is inferior to precipitation-
hardened nickel-based and iron-nickel alloys.

• Cobalt alloys are generally used in components that

operate under low stresses and need excellent hot-
corrosion resistance
• It can be seen that pure iron has a density of 7.87
g/cm3(0.284 lb/in3), while pure nickel and cobalt have
densities of about 8.9 g/cm3(0.322 lb/ in3).
• The superalloys are created usually by adding significant
levels of the alloy elements chromium, aluminum and
titanium, plus appropriate refractory metal elements
such as tungsten and molybdenum to the base metal.
• Densities of superalloys are a function of the amounts
of these elements in the final compositions.
• Aluminum, titanium and chromium reduce super- alloy
density whereas the refractory elements such as
tungsten, rhenium and tantalum increase it.
• As defined, the basis of superalloys are iron, cobalt
and nickel, i.e. transition metals located in a similar
area of the periodic table of the elements in the 8th
group of the periodic system of the elements.

• Table 9.4shows the physical properties of the

superalloy base elements.
• https://www.slideshare.net/AnandMohan50/super-alloy
• https://www.slideshare.net/N.Prakasan/superalloys-22683088
• https://www.slideshare.net/sidheshwar1988mm24/nickel-based-supe
ralloysprocessing-and-applications
• Iron-Based Superalloys: Cost-effective, moderate performance, good
oxidation resistance, but weaker creep resistance and lower high-
temperature capability.
• Nickel-Based Superalloys: The best in high-temperature applications,
excellent creep resistance, but expensive and dense.
• Cobalt-Based Superalloys: Superior corrosion and wear resistance,
high-temperature capability, but difficult to machine and costly.
 Iron–Nickel superalloys

• Iron–nickel superalloys are used in gas turbine engines for

their structural properties and low thermal expansion at
high temperature.

•Iron–nickel alloys
• (a)expand less than nickel or cobalt superalloys at high
temperature, which is an important material property for
engine components requiring closely controlled
clearances between rotating parts.
• (b) are generally less expensive than nickel- and cobalt-
based superalloys, which is another advantage.
• The main uses for iron–nickel alloys in jet engines are
blades, discs and casings.
• The composition of several iron–nickel alloys used in
jet engines is given in Table 12.3, and most contain
15–60% iron and 25–45% nickel.

• Iron–nickel superalloys are hardened by:

• (A) Solid solution strengthening and

• (B) Precipitation strengthening.

•
• The precipitates are similar to those presentin nickel-
based superalloys, and include
1. Ni3(Al,Ti),
2. (Ni3Nb) and
3. various types of carbides and carbonitrides
• The precipitates provide iron–nickel alloys with
good resistance against creep and stress rupture at
elevated temperature.
EFFECT OF ALLOYING ELEMENTS
(i)Boron and zirconium
• These elements that partition to grain boundaries and hence
grain-boundary fracture is suppressed under creep rupture
conditions, resulting in significant increases in rupture life.
• Boron in quantities of 0.003 to 0.03 wt% and, less frequently,
small additions of zirconium are added to improve stress
rupture properties and hot workability.
• Zirconium also forms the MC carbide ZrC.
• (ii) Niobium
• Niobium forms MC carbide, NbC, is found in alloys
that contain niobium, such as Inconel 706 and Inconel
718.
• (iii)VANADIUM
• Vanadium is added in small quantities to iron nickel
alloys to improve both notch ductility at service
temperatures and hot workability.
• (iv) MANGANESE & RARE EARTH
• Manganese and rare earth elements may be present
as deoxidizers;
• Rare earths have been added to improve oxidation
resistance
• (V) TITANIUM AND ALUMINIUM
• Alloys that are strengthened by ordered fcc γ', such as V-57
and A-286, and contain 25 to 35 wt% Ni, represent one
subgroup.

• The γ' phase is titanium-rich in these alloys, and care must

be taken to avoid an excessively high titanium-to aluminum
ratio, resulting in the replacement of fcc γ' by hexagonal
close-packed (hcp) γ (Ni3Ti), a less effective strengthener

• In general Aluminium, niobium and carbon are used as

alloying elements to promote the formation of hard
intermetallic precipitates or carbides thatare stable at high
temperature.
(Vi)Molybdenum & Tungsten
• Iron-based superalloys often use molybdenum for solid solution
strengthening.
• Molybdenum atoms are much larger than iron atoms.
• This can significantly improve the solid solution strengthening effect.
• In addition, there are also a small number of iron-based superalloys
that use tungsten to achieve solid solution strengthening.
• Iron-based superalloys is divided into
• (A)Solid solution strengthened iron-based alloys
• (B)Precipitation strengthened iron-based alloys
according to the strengthening method.
• Iron-based superalloys are suitable for use at
moderate temperatures.
• All of them can be used for a long time at a
temperature of 600~800°C.
• Among them, the precipitation strengthened iron-
based alloy can maintain good permanent strength
in this temperature range.
 precipitation strengthening

• The principle of precipitation strengthening is to allow the

precipitation strengthening elements in the alloy to precipitate to
form a precipitate phase to achieve the effect of hindering the
displacement of the alloy crystal. The precipitation phase can be
divided into γ' phase and γ" phase. These two strengthening phases
act on superalloys at different temperatures respectively
• The aluminum and titanium added to the iron-based superalloy will
precipitate out of the matrix to produce γ' phase. Unlike nickel-based
superalloys, more titanium is added to iron-based alloys to achieve
precipitation strengthening.
• Compared with nickel-based superalloys, iron-based superalloys have
much less precipitation strengthening phases. The proportion of
precipitation strengthening phase in nickel-based superalloys can
reach up to 65%, while that of iron-based superalloys is often less
than 20%.
Mechanical Property
• Iron-based superalloys can maintain good mechanical
properties below 900 °C.
• They are suitable for parts such as enclosures or
containers that are not subject to excessive stress.
• Among these components, they are durable in high
temperature.
• Compared with nickel-based alloys, iron-based
superalloys have poorer high-temperature oxidation
resistance and structural stability.
Mechanical Property

• Precipitation strengthened iron-based superalloys

have excellent mechanical properties below 750°C.
• Compared with nickel-based superalloys, the number
of precipitated phases in iron-based superalloys is
less. This makes it more ductile than nickel-based
superalloys.
• The iron-based superalloy has its unique grain
refinement process.
• Its high temperature strength is also not lower than
that of nickel-based alloys.
• Therefore, in general, the medium-temperature
mechanical properties of iron-based superalloys are
better than those of nickel-based superalloys.
• It is often used in aero-engine parts that are subject
to long-term stress.
Cobalt Base Superalloys

• Wrought cobalt-base alloys, unlike other superalloys,

are not strengthened by a coherent, ordered
precipitate. Rather, they are characterized by
• (A)a solid solution strengthened austenitic (fcc)
matrix in which
• (B) a small quantity of carbides is distributed.

• Cobalt crystallizes
• (A)in the HCP structure below 417 °C.
• (B) At higher temperatures, it transforms to FCC

• To avoid this transformation during service, virtually

all cobalt-base alloys are alloyed with nickel in order
to stabilize the fcc structure between room
temperature and the melting point.
ADVANTAGES OF COBALT BASED SUPERALLOY
• (i)Cobalt-base alloys display superior hot corrosion resistance
at high temperatures, probably a consequence of the
considerably higher chromium contents that are
characteristic of these alloys.

• It increases the operating life and reduces the maintenance

of engine parts

• Cobalt alloys generally have better hot-corrosion

resistancethan nickel-based and iron–nickel alloys in hot
atmospheres containing lead oxides, sulfur and other
compounds produced from the combustion of jetfuel.
• (ii)Cobalt-base alloys generally exhibit better
weldability and thermal-fatigue resistance than do
nickel-base alloys.
•
• (iii)They can be melted in air or argon, in contrast to
the vacuum melting required for nickel-base and
iron-nickel-base alloys containing the reactive metals
aluminum and titanium.
•
• Cobalt superalloys contain about
• 30–60% cobalt,
• 10–35% nickel,
• 20–30% chromium,
• 5–10% tungsten, and less than 1% carbon.
• The composition of some cobalt alloys used in jet engine components
is given in Table 12.4.
• Cobalt-based superalloys are widely used in aviation,
aerospace, energy, medical and other fields.
• In aviation and aerospace, cobalt-based superalloys
are used in the manufacture of components such as
turbine engines and gas turbines.
• In the energy field, cobalt-based superalloys are used
to make turbine blades and other components in
thermal and nuclear power plants. In the medical
field, cobalt-based superalloys are also used to
manufacture medical devices such as artificial bones
and artificial joints.
EFFECT OF ALLOYING ELEMENTS
• (I) TITANIUM
• Titanium additions also have been made in order to precipitate
coherent, ordered Co3Ti as a strengthening phase. Unfortunately,
this phase is stable only to about 700 °C (1290 °F), which is much
lower than for γ' Ni3Al, Ti in Ni-base alloys.

• (II) CARBIDE FORMERS(Cr,Mo,W)

• As in the case of nickel-base alloys, a variety of carbides have
been found in cobalt alloys. These include M23C6, M6C, and MC
carbides. In both L-605 and Haynes 188, M 6C transforms into
M23C6 during exposure to temperatures in the range of 816 to
927 °C for 3000 h.
• Chromium, added primarily for oxidation and hot corrosion
resistance.
• (iv) Intermetallics (W,Al,Ti,Ta,Nb)
• In addition to carbides, small quantities of
intermetallic phases such as Co3W, Co2W, and Co7W6
have been found in L- 605. Other alloys display the
compounds CoAl, Co3Ti, and Co2(Ta, Nb, Ti).

• In addition tungsten exert the opposite hcp

stabilizing tendency and added primarily for solid-
solution strengthening,
• Nickel
• Due to the different crystal structures of metal cobalt
at different temperatures, it is often necessary to add
5% to 25% nickel to the cobalt-based superalloy to
stabilize the austenite structure of the alloy.
• At the same time, the nickel element also brings a
certain corrosion resistance to the alloy.
• Iron
• In addition, some cobalt-based superalloys also use
iron as an element to stabilize the austenite
structure of the alloy.
• The content is generally 9% ~ 20%. However, when
the iron content is too high, the alloy may precipitate
harmful phases.
PROPERTIES OF Co Based Super alloy
• High Melting Point
• The initial melting temperature of cobalt-based
superalloys can generally reach above 1300 °C. While
the initial melting temperature of most nickel-based
superalloys is less than 1280°C.
• This is mainly because a large amount of refractory
metal is often added to cobalt-based superalloys for
solid solution strengthening.
• The high melting point makes cobalt-based
superalloys widely used to make guide vanes for
aircraft engines. It avoids faults such as burning or
deformation of the guide vane at high temperature.
• Good Corrosion Resistance
• Cobalt-based superalloys tend to have a higher
chromium content than other superalloys, which
gives them better high-temperature corrosion
resistance.
• Cobalt-based superalloys can form a stable oxide
film at high temperatures.
• It can maintain the strength and stability of its
material under the dual action of high temperature
and corrosive medium.
• This characteristic of the cobalt-based superalloy also
allows it to work stably in engine blades.
• Good High Temperature Durability
• Below 900°C, the durability of nickel-based
superalloys is better than that of cobalt-based
superalloys.
• However, when the temperature rises above 900°C,
the durability of nickel-based superalloys drops
sharply. At this time, cobalt-based superalloys have
obvious advantages in durability. This is why cobalt-
based superalloys are suitable for high-temperature
guide vanes.
• Good Welding Performance
• The welding performance of cobalt-based superalloys
is also better than that of nickel-based superalloys.
• It is suitable for various welding processes.
• In addition, due to the high melting point of cobalt-
based superalloys, appropriate parameters need to be
selected during welding.