Nickel-base superalloys: current status and potential

Abstract

The evolution of nickel-base superalloys has occurred over about 50 years through a combination of alloy and processing developments to satisfy quite different service requirements of various components of the gas turbine. There is now a good general understanding of the mechanisms leading to the unusual mechanical properties of these precipitation strengthened materials. Although the scope for further significant improvements in the behaviour of nickel-base superalloys appears to be limited, it is unlikely that their full potential is yet being achieved in engineering applications. Progress towards the development and validation of constitutive laws describing fully anisotropic deformation is described.