Evaluation of Hot Workability of Nickel-Based Superalloy Using Activation Energy Map and Processing Maps

The stress-strain curves for nickel-based superalloy were obtained from isothermal hot compression tests at a wide range of deformation temperatures and strain rates. The material constants and deformation activation energy of the investigated superalloy were calculated. The accuracy of the constitutive equation describing the hot deformation behavior of this material was confirmed by the correlation coefficient for the linear regression. The distribution of deformation activation energy Q as a function of strain rate and temperature for nickel-based superalloy was presented. The processing maps were generated upon the basis of Prasad stability criterion for true strains ranging from 0.2 to 1 at the deformation temperatures range of 900–1150 °C, and strain rates range of 0.01–100 s(−1). Based on the flow stress curves analysis, deformation activation energy map, and processing maps for different true strains, the undesirable and potentially favorable hot deformation parameters were determined. The microstructural observations confirmed the above optimization results for the hot workability of the investigated superalloy. Besides, the numerical simulation and industrial forging tests were performed in order to verify the obtained results.