Institute of Metals Division - Intermetallic Compounds In Titanium-Hardened Alloys

DURING an earlier examination of high-temperature alloy, A-286, the presence of an unknown intermetallic compound was verified by X-ray diffraction. Owing to its prominent appearance at grain boundaries, the arbitrary name of G phase was assigned.' Low-silicon, vacuum-melted heats were found to contain no G phase, and this investigation was initiated to determine the influence of silicon on G-phase formation; additional work was undertaken to extend existing data on other intermetallic compounds and the aging reactions in this group of alloys. Taylor and Floyd2-4 observed that the Ni3Al phase (y') and the Ni8Ti phase (7)) are the only equilibrium intermetailic compounds in nickel ternary alloys containing up to 25 pct Cr and 10 pct Ti or Al. They found that y' can dissolve considerable nickel, chromium, and titanium, although the stoichio-metric composition of 7 remains fixed. Nordheim and Grant5 confirmed that age hardening of 80 pct Ni-20 pct Cr alloys of the Nimonic-80 type is due to precipitation of y', where aluminum is partially replaced by titanium. They suggest that optimum hardness and ductility result from increasing the titanium to aluminum ratio toward the end of the y' solubility range and from increasing total titanium and aluminum content to the maximum limit permitted by processing. Such information is necessary for those seeking to improve the service-temperature range and long-time structural stability of high-temperature components. Experimental Methods Compositions of materiais studied. are listed in Table I. Alloys D, E, and F possess representative A-286 analyses; silicon increases from less than 0.02 to 1.75 pct in alloys A to H; in alloys I to K, titanium decreases from 2.24 to 0.39 pct, and aluminum increases from 0.1 6 to 240 pct. Alloys A and D were solution heat treated for 4 hr at 1700°F, oil quenched and aged for 0.5, 2, 6, 12, 30, 70, 200, and 1000 hr at 1200°, 1300°, 1400°, and 1500°F. Therefore, a total of 33 specimens was required for each