High temperature phases in superalloys and their influence on mechanical properties

Superalloys count to the group of hight temperature materials and are an important part of aeroplane engines and stationary gas turbines. A steady improvement of these materials is of high importance, to reduce costs, increase efficiency and reduce weight for future applications.

Through a detailed analysis of the microstructure of various Ni- and Co-base superalloys regarding different high temperature phases like h, d, µ, b or primary g¢, their influence on the mechanical properties like tensile strength and crack propagation are evaluated. This way, new ideas for alloy design and processing can be developed.

Method used in this work are amongst others, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Atom probe tomography (APT).