Effects of aging in high temperature helium environments on room temperature tensile properties of nickel-base superalloys

Research highlights: → Haynes 230 is susceptible to carburization, but Alloy 617 to decarburization and inter-granular oxidation. → Decarburization of Nickel-base superalloys can be accelerated in impure helium with H2. → Aging heat treatment causes inter-granular fracture primarily along inter-granular oxide and grain boundary carbides, which results in the loss of ductility. → Thin-plate specimen of Alloy 617 tends to favor failure by glide plane fracture when it is heavily decarburized. - Abstract: The influence of high temperature aging treatment on room temperature tensile properties of wrought nickel-base superalloys Alloy 617 and Haynes 230 was investigated. A significant decrease in elongation was observed for Alloy 617 exposed to a heavily oxidizing and decarburizing condition because of coarsening of grain boundary carbides and extensive inter-granular oxidation. On the other hand, Haynes 230 showed much lower ductility when exposed to a heavily carburizing condition, especially at 1000 deg. C because extensive carburization occurred due to a reaction with tungsten. Considerable loss of ductility for Alloy 617 and Haynes 230 was also observed in He-H2-H2O-CO-CO2-CH4 and He-H2O-CO-CO2 environments, which were the slightly oxidizing and decarburizing conditions. Loss of ductility was predominantly associated with brittle inter-granular cracking, while the extent of loss of ductility decreased depending on the decarburization depth. Decarburization was observed more extensively in helium with H2-H2O-CO-CO2-CH4 than helium with H2O-CO-CO2, and for Alloy 617 than for Haynes 230. Finally, the role of H2 in accelerating decarburization is discussed.