Phase Transformation Strengthening of Hot Extruded Inconel 625 under High-temperature Load Environment

Microstructure evolution and properties of hot-extruded Inconel 625 alloy were investigated at different creep temperatures, aging time and strain rates. The experimental results indicate that the Inconel 625 alloy exhibits an excellent creep resistance at 700 °C and below. When the creep temperature rises to 750 °C, the creep resistance falls drastically due to the failure of phase transformation strengthening and the precipitation of a large amount of δ phase and σ phase at the grain boundary. The special temperature-sensitive characteristics of Inconel 625 alloy play a very important role in its fracture. When the strain rate is 8.33×10−3 s−1, the strength of the specimen is higher than that of other parameters attributed to the effect of phase transformation strengthening. With the increase of Ni3 (Al, Ti), the phase transformation strengthening inhibits thickening of the stacking faults into twins and improves the overall mechanical properties of the alloy. With the increase of the aging time, the granular Cr-rich M23C6 carbides continue to precipitate at the grain boundary, which hinders the movement of the dislocations and obviously increases the strength of the samples. Especially, the yield strength increases several times.