Elevated temperature creep deformation of a single crystal superalloy through the small punch creep method

Small punch testing is now a widely recognised approach for obtaining useful mechanical property information of critical structural components, particularly in the nuclear industry. However, to date the utilisation of this method has been limited to isotropic materials such as aluminium alloys and steels. This paper will look to utilise the small punch (SP) test to assess the creep response of 〈001〉-orientated CMSX-41 at temperatures above 950 °C. An orthogonal rafting regime of the γ′ structure is observed in the post-test microstructure due to the biaxial tension state typically produced in a SP test. Interpretation of the SP results to correlate with uniaxial creep data is carried out by employing the ksp approach in order to provide a platform for future material assessment.