Absence of dynamic strain aging in an additively manufactured nickel-base superalloy

Dynamic strain aging (DSA), observed macroscopically as serrated plastic flow, has long been seen in nickel-base superalloys when plastically deformed at elevated temperatures. Here we report the absence of DSA in Inconel 625 made by additive manufacturing (AM) at temperatures and strain rates where DSA is present in its conventionally processed counterpart. This absence is attributed to the unique AM microstructure of finely dispersed secondary phases (carbides, N-rich phases, and Laves phase) and textured grains. Based on experimental observations, we propose a dislocation-arrest model to elucidate the criterion for DSA to occur or to be absent as a competition between dislocation pipe diffusion and carbide–carbon reactions. With in situ neutron diffraction studies of lattice strain evolution, our findings provide a new perspective for mesoscale understanding of dislocation–solute interactions and their impact on work-hardening behaviors in high-temperature alloys, and have important implications for tailoring thermomechanical properties by microstructure control via AM.