Two-step heat treatment for laser powder bed fusion of a nickel-based superalloy with simultaneously enhanced tensile strength and ductility

Nickel-based superalloys show severe cracking tendency during laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), which hinders their widespread applications in aerospace. A two-step heat treatment, including hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and solid solution heat treatment (SSHT), was proposed to obtain crack-free LPBF nickel-based superalloy components with a supersaturated solid solution of alloying elements for desirable mechanical performance. The HIP process aimed to annihilate microcracks, and the subsequent SSHT focused on modifying the microstructure and improving the solid solution extent of alloying elements. The pore-and-microcrack-containing defects with a volume fraction of 0.96% in the LPBF samples were transformed to pore-dominated defects with a volume fraction of 0.08% after the HIP process. After the SSHT, it was not observed the reappearance of the previously coalesced microcracks, but the porosity volume fraction showed a slight rebound to 0.11% due to the coarsening or regrowth of the pores. The tensile strength and elongation at break of HIP + SSHT samples printed along the horizontal plane at room temperature were 3.6% and 113.5% higher than those of as-fabricated ones. An 11.9% and 410.0% improvement in tensile strength and ductility at 900 degrees C was achieved after the two-step treatment. The development of the microstructure after the HIP and SSHT, involving sub-grains, dislocation networks, carbide precipitates, and grains, was revealed systematically. The correlation between the microstructure and tensile properties was unveiled in depth. This work is anticipated to provide an efficient route with excellent industrial applicability for LPBF superalloy components to mitigate microcracks and acquire attractive mechanical properties.