Thermal diffusivity measurements of CMSX-4 alloy by the laser-flash method

In the present work, thermal diffusivity measurements have been carried out on industrial samples of CMSX-4 nickel-base superalloy using the laser-flash method with emphasis on studying the effect of temperature and microstructure on the thermal diffusivity. The measurements were performed in the temperature range from 298 to 1623 K covering both solid as well as liquid ranges. Below 1253 K, the thermal-diffusivity values were found to increase with increasing temperature. Microstructural investigations of quenched samples revealed that below 1253 K, an ordered phase, usually referred to as the gamma'-phase was present together with the disordered fcc phase, often referred to as the gamma phase. Between 1253 K and the solidus temperature, the gamma' phase was found to dissolve in the matrix alloy causing an increase in the disordering of the alloy, and thereby a small decrease in the thermal-diffusivity values. The thermal-diffusivity values of samples pre-annealed at 1573 K exhibited constancy in the temperature range from 1277 to 1513 K, which is attributed to the attainment of thermodynamic equilibrium. These equilibrium values were found to be lower than the results for samples not subjected to annealing. The thermal-diffusivity values of the alloy in the liquid state were found to be independent of temperature.