Improved Powder Metallurgy superalloy developed at ONERA

January 5, 2015

ONERA, the French aerospace laboratory based in Chatillon, reported at the recent EuroSuperalloys 2014 conference held in Giens, France, that researchers have successfully optimised and upgraded the microstructure and mechanical properties of a patented nickel-base Powder Metallurgy (PM) superalloy designated N19. The composition of the PM superalloy is shown in Table 1. The enhanced mechanical properties which have been obtained confirms the alloy’s potential for aeroengine turbine disk applications.

onera-1

Table 1  Composition of N19 alloy in weight percent

Didier Locq and colleagues from ONERA, along with colleagues from MinesParisTech and SNECMA, reported in their paper ‘Metallurgical Optimization of PM Superalloy N19’ that they investigated different heat treatment regimes (Table 2) which were used to reach the best compromise between static strength and cyclic resistance for the N19 superalloy.

onera-2

Table 2 Heat treatment conditions

The alloy was produced by Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) argon atomised powder (<53 micron) at 1160°C and 100 MPa for 3 hrs. The HIPed billets were then extruded at 1070°C with a 5.5 extrusion ratio and cut sections were isothermally forged into pancake shapes about 190 mm in diameter and 28 mm thick.

The researchers found whilst the grain size in PM superalloys is usually limited to 25 microns, a coarser grain microstructure obtained after solutioning heat treatment exhibited better creep and crack propagation resistance as well as a reduced propensity for crack nucleation from ceramic inclusions under fatigue loading. This was due to the distribution, sizes and morphologies of secondary and tertary y’ being significantly modified by the cooling path after solution heat treatment.

The route enabling grain coarsening up to 50-70 micron for the N19 superalloy is to be investigated in further research.

www.onera.fr 


Powder Metallurgy Review magazine:

Your email address:


Useful links: Download PM Review magazine | News headlines | Browse articles 


Recent issue of Powder Metallurgy review - your go-to resource to stay updated on the world of powder metallurgy and metal powders

In the latest issue of PM Review…

PM Review Spring 2023

Download PDF

Extensive Powder Metallurgy industry news coverage, and the following exclusive deep-dive articles and reports:

  • GKN Powder Metallurgy: A strategic vision for the future of permanent magnets for EVs
  • Building trust in the Powder Metallurgy industry: The role of standardisation and an update on recent work by ISO/TC 119
  • High-volume powder production for Additive Manufacturing: SMS group’s continuous metal powder production process
  • Development of enhanced-performance PM brake pads for high-speed trains by Beijing Tianyishangjia New Material Corp., Ltd.
  • The START project: Creating a sustainable supply chain for green energy harvesting products by Powder Metallurgy
  • World PM2022: Reviewing three innovative methods for metal powder production

The latest news from the world of metal powders, delivered to your inbox

Don't miss any new issue of PM Review, and get the latest industry news. Sign up to our weekly newsletter.

Sign up

Join our community

From the industry…

Discover our magazine archive…

The free-to-access PM Review magazine archive offers unparalleled insight into the world of Powder Metallurgy from a commercial and technological perspective through:

  • Reports on visits to leading PM part manufacturers, metal powder manufacturers and industry suppliers
  • Articles on technology and application trends
  • Information on materials developments
  • Reviews of key technical presentations from the international conference circuit
  • International industry news

All past issues are available to download as free PDFs or view in your browser.

 

Browse the archive

 

Looking for PM production equipment, metal powders, R&D support and more?

Discover suppliers of these and more in our
advertisers’ index and buyer’s guide, available in the back of PM Review magazine.

  • Powders & materials
  • Powder process, classification & analysis
  • PM products
  • Atomisers & powder production technology
  • Compaction presses, tooling & ancillaries
  • Sintering equipment & ancillaries
  • Post-processing
  • Consulting & toll sintering
Download PDF
Share via
Copy link