High-Throughput Creep/Oxidation Testing of Compositionally-Graded Co-Ni-Fe Superalloys

Tiffany Wu , KenHee Ryou, Ryan Zhou

In collaboration with Prof. Jian Cao and Prof. Ian McCue


Compositionally-graded materials show a continuous composition change in space unlike traditionally bonded alloys where abrupt interfaces are prone to failure and deleterious phase formation. We are performing gas-pressure bulge tests on an array of alloys with varying compositions fabricated by the directed energy deposition to rapidly characterize key design-relevant properties of numerous superalloys at room and elevated temperatures. We focus on superalloys with a matrix in the Co-Ni-Fe system, with specific composition sequences that avoid the formation of deleterious phases. We perform microstructure characterization, bulge and uniaxial creep tests, and oxidation tests with X-ray diffraction. The figure on the right shows the grain structure of as-deposited Inconel 718 alloy across multiple melt-pools (EBSD map), where undesirable inter-dendritic Laves phases are located across the build.


As-deposited DED Inconel 718. Top row: EBSD mapping showing equiaxed fine grains along melt-pool boundaries and elongated grains inside the melt-pools. Bottom row: SEM images showing inter-dendritic Laves phases formed upon deposition. Alloy courtesy: Rujing Zha, Prof. Jian Cao

Funding support

  1. DARPA