Influence of Heat Treatment on Cyclic Response of Nickel-Based Superalloy Inconel 718 up to Very-High Cycle Regime

Cyclic response and fatigue behavior are sensitive to the microstructure of material induced by heat treatment. In this paper, three sets of high-temperature superalloy Inconel 718 with different heat treatment, namely annealed, aged, and directly aged high quality (DAHQ), are compared. Difference in grain size distribution, phase, and precipitate, etc., were investigated using an optical camera and scanning electron microscopy. Yield and ultimate strength were found to increase obviously after aging heat treatment. Self-heating phenomenon at 20 kHz was attenuated as grain size decreased. There was a transition from cyclic hardening to softening. Very-high cycle fatigue (VHCF) behavior of Inconel 718 was tested using an ultrasonic fatigue device. Crack initiation duration occupied greater than 99% of the total fatigue life. It concluded that average grain size influences VHCF strength and crack initiation mechanism, and that self-heating phenomenon is not a decisive factor on VHCF strength for Inconel 718.