Zhangjie Sun , Feida Chen , Jianjian Li , Kun Yang , Xiaobin Tang
{"title":"Effects of heat treatment on microstructure, mechanical properties and irradiation response of LPBF GH3535 superalloy","authors":"Zhangjie Sun , Feida Chen , Jianjian Li , Kun Yang , Xiaobin Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.matchar.2025.115587","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Additive manufacturing (AM) offers a promising approach for the structural optimization of components in next generation advanced reactors. However, AM alloys often struggle to achieve a balanced combination of the mechanical properties and irradiation resistance. In this study, a novel GH3535 superalloy with a theoretical density of 99.996 % was fabricated using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), followed by a two-step heat treatment consisting of hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and solid solution heat treatment (SSHT). The properties of three types of LPBF GH3535 samples were compared to assess the influence of heat treatment on their microstructure and mechanical properties. Tensile testing revealed that the LPBF-HIP-SSHT sample exhibited superior ductility compared to the LPBF sample, both at room temperature and 700 °C. Nanoindentation tests were conducted to evaluate the irradiation hardening behavior of the alloys. TEM analysis and helium bubble statistical evaluation showed that the LPBF and LPBF-HIP-SSHT samples had similar helium bubble sizes and number densities. When compared to the LPBF-HIP sample, the LPBF-HIP-SSHT GH3535 alloy demonstrated superior helium tolerance and enhanced resistance to irradiation hardening, largely attributed to the presence of a significant amount of nano-carbides. This study offers important insights into the design and optimization of LPBF GH3535 for nuclear industry applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18727,"journal":{"name":"Materials Characterization","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 115587"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Materials Characterization","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044580325008769","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, CHARACTERIZATION & TESTING","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM) offers a promising approach for the structural optimization of components in next generation advanced reactors. However, AM alloys often struggle to achieve a balanced combination of the mechanical properties and irradiation resistance. In this study, a novel GH3535 superalloy with a theoretical density of 99.996 % was fabricated using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), followed by a two-step heat treatment consisting of hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and solid solution heat treatment (SSHT). The properties of three types of LPBF GH3535 samples were compared to assess the influence of heat treatment on their microstructure and mechanical properties. Tensile testing revealed that the LPBF-HIP-SSHT sample exhibited superior ductility compared to the LPBF sample, both at room temperature and 700 °C. Nanoindentation tests were conducted to evaluate the irradiation hardening behavior of the alloys. TEM analysis and helium bubble statistical evaluation showed that the LPBF and LPBF-HIP-SSHT samples had similar helium bubble sizes and number densities. When compared to the LPBF-HIP sample, the LPBF-HIP-SSHT GH3535 alloy demonstrated superior helium tolerance and enhanced resistance to irradiation hardening, largely attributed to the presence of a significant amount of nano-carbides. This study offers important insights into the design and optimization of LPBF GH3535 for nuclear industry applications.
期刊介绍:
Materials Characterization features original articles and state-of-the-art reviews on theoretical and practical aspects of the structure and behaviour of materials.
The Journal focuses on all characterization techniques, including all forms of microscopy (light, electron, acoustic, etc.,) and analysis (especially microanalysis and surface analytical techniques). Developments in both this wide range of techniques and their application to the quantification of the microstructure of materials are essential facets of the Journal.
The Journal provides the Materials Scientist/Engineer with up-to-date information on many types of materials with an underlying theme of explaining the behavior of materials using novel approaches. Materials covered by the journal include:
Metals & Alloys
Ceramics
Nanomaterials
Biomedical materials
Optical materials
Composites
Natural Materials.