A review on tribological behavior of nickel-based Inconel superalloy

Superalloys are a group of engineering alloys designed to operate at elevated temperatures, and they find application in various engineering sectors where a high-temperature application is required such as nuclear power plants, steam turbines, and aircraft. There are three important classes of superalloys, that is, iron-based, cobalt-based, and nickel-based superalloys. Among them, nickel-based superalloys find great application at both low and high temperatures due to their higher mechanical strength, good fatigue life, excellent wear, and corrosive resistance. This review article aims to review the tribological studies of the nickel-based Inconel superalloys. The article deals with the systematic studies of wear behavior, wear mechanism, and nanostructured glaze layer formation over the wear surfaces. The effect of load and temperatures influencing the wear rate and wear mechanisms of nickel-based superalloys are also discussed in detail. Along with that, the focus of this review article is to discuss the advancement in the tribological studies of the Inconel-718 superalloy. The development in the Inconel-718 alloys (surface alloying, laser shot peening, composites, microstructure engineering, etc.) to improve wear resistance is also discussed in a systematic manner. This article is expected to assist the researchers in identifying the trend and research gaps so that they can contribute to further tribological developments of nickel-based superalloys.