材料期刊网

Optimum properties of high temperature superalloys are derived from interactions of the composition,thermomechanical deformation, and heat treatment.Nickel-base alloys contain a variety of alloying elements in a large number of combinations to produce various desired effects. The general characteristics of any specific nickelbase superalloy is determined by composition.The control of the microstructure in wrought processed superalloys can further influence the resultant component properties.The relationship between microstructure and properties is key in advanced design and manufacture of turbine engine components, and requires extensive alloy and process characterization to achieve desired results.Various forging methods have been developed and employed throughout the years to process superalloy components.Hammer forging, Press forging,and advanced isothermal press forging equipment and processes have been designed and manufactured to process speciality metals which often have very narrow processing windows.Combination processes have also been introduced into turbine engine applications,which result in a hybrid of resultant structures and properties.One such speciality,combination process is the Ladish Iso Con process which utilizes isothermal forging and conventional forging to achieve unique properties not matched by any other single process.Ladish utilizes forging presses for conventional forging, hot-die forging and for isothermal forging, in addition to hammers and ring rolling mills for wrought processing.This wide range of equipment allows flexibility in process design and optimization.Variations in temperature, strain and strain rate have been shown to significantly influence resultant grain sizes and microstructures.Tools are being developed to allow forging processes and specific forging parameters to be evaluated and optimized with regard to final microstructure before shop triale are required. Sophisticated finite element method (FEM) models are allowing the design of forging processes on computers rather than by iterative trial and error methods.