Microstructural insights into fatigue short crack propagation resistance and rate fluctuation in a Ni-based superalloy manufactured by laser powder bed fusion

The microstructural sensitivity of fatigue short crack path and its propagation rate in a Ni-based superalloy GH4169 manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) was investigated at room temperature. In-situ digital image correlation (DIC) observation and post-mortem microstructural analysis around the crack path were performed. The results show that the intragranular cracks developed in the shear cracking mode are closely aligned along the activated slip bands in the gamma-matrix grains with the crystallographic characteristics of parallel to the gamma-{111} slip planes. Multiple slip was also activated, causing the crack retardation or deflection. Low-angle grain boundaries and subgrain boundaries were shown to cause deflections of intragranular cracking, while high-angle grain boundaries significantly arrested the short crack propagation. Moreover, the resistance of grain boundaries to short cracking was assessed using combined metrics including the crystallographic and microstructural parameters of twist angle, the Schmid factor and the geometrical compatibility factor. These site-specific microstructural analyses around the crack path provide insights into the microstructural origins of resistance to the short crack propagation as well as an interpretation of the observed significant fluctuations in the crack propagation rate.