Influences of ruthenium and crystallographic orientation on creep behavior of aluminized nickel-base single crystal superalloys

The influences of ruthenium and surface orientation on creep behavior of aluminized Ni-base single crystal superalloys were investigated by comparing two different types of NKH superalloys. The aluminized coated specimens were then subjected to creep rupture tests at a temperature of 900 °C and a stress of 392 MPa. The coating treatment resulted in a significant decrease in creep rupture lives for both superalloys. The diffusion zones between the coating and substrate led to changes in microstructure, which diminished the creep behavior of the aluminized superalloys. Because of the interdiffusion of Ru, Al and Ni, the solubility of some of the refractory elements, such as W, Re. Mo, Co and Cr decreased in the diffusion zone; the precipitation of topologically close-packed (TCP) phases was thus inevitable. In the present study, the addition of Ru increased the degree of Re and Cr supersaturation in the γ matrix. Consequently, the addition of Ru indirectly promoted the precipitation of TCP phases in aluminized Ni-base single crystal superalloys. Furthermore, the growth of TCP precipitates was greatly influenced by the specific surface orientations of the Ni-base single crystal superalloys. In conclusion, the {110} specimens showed shorter creep rupture life than the {100} specimens, this was due to the difference in the crystallographic geometry of {111}〈101〉 slip system and TCP precipitates between the two side-surface orientations of the specimens.