Effect of forging pressure on the microstructure of linear friction welded Inconel 738 superalloy

Abstract

Inconel 738, which is a nickel base superalloy used for hot section components of aircraft and industrial turbines is difficult to fabricate and repair by fusion welding due to its susceptibility to heat affected zone (HAZ) intergranular cracking. Crack-free joining of the difficult-to-weld alloy is currently achieved by using linear friction welding (LFW). Nevertheless, oxidation along the joint during LFW is a major problem. Information about the effect of process parameters on the microstructural evolution of linear friction welded nickel base alloys is very limited. In this work, the effect of forging pressure on the microstructure of linear friction welded Inconel 738 was studied. The results as elucidated in this work showed that increased forging pressure caused strain-induced rapid solidification of metastable liquid, which resulted in complete elimination of deleterious liquid phase oxides in bonded material contrasting the generally accepted view that assumes extrusion of solid state oxides during LFW.