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Nickel-based alloys have great application value in aerospace, biomedical industry, chemical industry, and other fields. However, nickel-based alloys are known to be difficult to process, which will generate a lot of heat and friction during processing, which limits the application range of nickel-based alloys. Therefore, a large amount of cutting fluid needs to be used during processing, and the cutting fluid will cause harm to human health and the environment. In order to solve these problems, scholars proposed to use the minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) to replace the conventional flood cooling lubrication technique. Recently, many papers have proposed to use MQL for lubrication /cooling in the processing of nickel-based alloys. However, few studies have approached this topic comprehensively. To bridge this gap, this study conducts a comprehensive literature review of the progress made in the processing of nickel-based alloys using various MQL methods. It should be noted that these studies are divided into four categories: vegetable oil-based MQL, cryogenic cooling-based MQL, solid lubricant-based MQL, and electrostatic atomization-based MQL. It is crucial to compare the advantages of these cooling and lubricating technologies in machining nickel-based alloys, analyze their experimental results, and assess their impact on machining quality and tool wear. This review reveals that compared to traditional MQL, vegetable oil-based MQL is more energy-saving and environmentally friendly, resulting in approximately 30% improvement in surface quality and a 50% reduction in tool wear. The addition of solid lubricants to vegetable oil further enhances its lubrication performance. Cryogenic cooling-based MQL enables the attainment of finer grains and smaller sawtooth chips. Electrostatic atomization MQL, by altering the atomization process of traditional MQL, produces more uniform droplets, leading to a 42.4% reduction in tool wear and a 47% improvement in machined surface quality. The purpose of this paper is to help researchers identify existing gaps and to enable MQL to improve the processing quality and application range of nickel-based alloys. Finally, the present technical challenges and future research directions are put forward.

Water electrolysis is a crucial technology for independency on fossil fuels. However, water splitting is limited by the sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER). While many studies report highly active, non‐precious metal‐based electrocatalysts for alkaline OER, applicability under industrial conditions is often omitted. Such conditions require catalysts being applied on nickel or nickel‐containing alloys in elevated electrolyte concentrations. In contrast to the rather inert substrates often used in scientific studies, such industrially applied substrates exhibit significant OER activity themselves and show dynamic behaviour. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the OER behaviour of such substrates. Here, nickel and seven commercially available nickel‐containing alloys are investigated as anodes in alkaline OER and their elemental compositions correlated to their corresponding activities. Repeated potential cycling across the Ni(II)/Ni(III)‐redox couple is established as activity‐enhancing procedure. Overall, the nickel‐base alloy Hastelloy® X exhibits the highest activity due to its Fe‐, Cr‐, Mo‐ and Co‐content. Though, the activity gain differs significantly for the various materials. Comparing Ni and Hastelloy® X as least and most active materials, the positive impact of activation on both activity and stability becomes evident. While untreated Ni suffers from poor OER stability, the activity‐enhancing procedure also significantly increases electrode stability in 24 h chronopotentiometry. Commercially available nickel‐containing alloys are active electrodes for the alkaline electrochemical oxygen evolution. Upon cycling around the Ni(II)/Ni(III) redox couple, they possess a highly dynamic behaviour showing significant increase and in case of pure Ni also stabilization of activity.

In this work, we investigated the viability of established hot cracking models for numerically based development of crack-resistant nickel-base superalloys with a high γ′ volume fraction for additive manufacturing. Four cracking models were implemented, and one alloy designed for reduced cracking susceptibility was deduced based on each cracking criterion. The criteria were modeled using CALPHAD-based Scheil calculations. The alloys were designed using a previously developed multi-criteria optimization tool. The commercial superalloy Mar-M247 was chosen as the reference material. The alloys were fabricated by arc melting, then remelted with laser and electron beam, and the cracking was assessed. After electron beam melting, solidification cracks were more prevalent than cold cracks, and vice versa. The alloys exhibited vastly different crack densities ranging from 0 to nearly 12 mm−1. DSC measurements showed good qualitative agreement with the calculated transition temperatures. It was found that the cracking mechanisms differed strongly depending on the process temperature. A correlation analysis of the measured crack densities and the modeled cracking susceptibilities showed no clear positive correlation for any crack model, indicating that none of these models alone is sufficient to describe the cracking behavior of the alloys. One experimental alloy showed an improved cracking resistance during electron beam melting, suggesting that further development of the optimization-based alloy design approach could lead to the discovery of new crack-resistant superalloys.

Nickel-base superalloys such as VDM 780 may possess a high content of Cr and Co. This influences solution energies of phase-forming elements such as Al and Ta (γ′-phase), Nb (γ″- and δ-phase), and Ti (η-phase). We perform density functional theory studies of a nickel matrix at 0 K with high concentrations of either Co and Cr and calculate the influence of these elements on solution energies. In the case of Co, the solution energy can be predicted well by the nearest-neighbor interaction in the Co-rich matrix. For Cr, the effect is more complicated because Cr has a larger ionic radius and changes the magnetic state of the material. The effect of a Cr-rich matrix on the energy of Co is dominated by magnetic effects and interactions with the other elements by elastic deformation of the lattice. A high content of Co or Cr will thus increase the solvus temperature of the strengthening phase in nickel-base superalloys, in agreement with the literature and thermodynamic calculations.

Laser consolidation (LC) developed by National Research Council's Industrial Materials Institute (NRC-IMI-London) since mid-1990s, is a laser cladding based rapid manufacturing and material additive process that could fabricate a \"net-shape\" functional metallic shape through a \"layer-upon-layer\" deposition directly from a computer aided design model without using molds or dies. In order to evaluate the LC processability of different materials, some representative nickel-based superalloys (IN-625, IN-718, IN-738, and Waspaloy), stainless steels (austenitic SS316L and martensitic SS420), and lightweight alloys (Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy and Al-4047 aluminum alloy) have been investigated. Like other laser cladding based processes, due to process-induced rapid directional solidification, the LC alloys have demonstrated certain unique morphological characteristics. Moreover, the \"as-consolidated\" LC alloys, in nature, are in the \"as-quenched\" state, and some precipitation processes from their matrices, which are sometimes critical to the development of mechanical performance of the materials, could be effectively suppressed or retarded. Post-heat treatments, therefore, could necessarily facilitate the process of achieving their required operational microstructures. In this article, a comprehensive investigation was performed including metallurgical soundness and process-induced morphological characteristics of the LC materials, and microstructure development brought by post-LC heat treatments using optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, and X-ray diffraction. The implications on the mechanical performance of the LC materials were discussed as well in order to provide essential information for potential industrial applications of the LC materials. © 2011 Her Majesty the Queen.

Establishing a quantitative prediction model for the SCC crack growth rate of dissimilar metal welded joints at the safe end is very important for the safety evaluation of nuclear power structures. However, the SCC growth process is closely related to crack tip creep. In this paper, uniaxial tensile creep experiments under different stress are carried out on nickel base alloy 600, and the constitutive creep equation of nickel base alloy 600 is established. At the same time, the SCC crack tip creep field is analyzed using finite element software, and the effects of crack tip creep variables, creep rates, and material creep properties on the crack tip field are analyzed. Results show that nickel base alloy 600 occurs creep under high stress, and the creep rate in the crack tip region decreases with the crack inclination angle and the distance from the crack tip. The peak values of creep and creep rate appear directly in front of the crack propagation direction. Research results lay a foundation for establishing a quantitative prediction model of SCC.

Open literature publications, in the period from 2010 to the end of January 2018, on refractory high entropy alloys (RHEAs) and refractory complex concentrated alloys (RCCAs) are reviewed. While RHEAs, by original definition, are alloys consisting of five or more principal elements with the concentration of each of these elements between 5 and 35 at.%, RCCAs can contain three or more principal elements and the element concentration can be greater than 35%. The 151 reported RHEAs/RCCAs are analyzed based on their composition, processing methods, microstructures, and phases. Mechanical properties, strengthening and deformation mechanisms, oxidation, and corrosion behavior, as well as tribology, of RHEA/RCCAs are summarized. Unique properties of some of these alloys make them promising candidates for high temperature applications beyond Ni-based superalloys and/or conventional refractory alloys. Methods of development and exploration, future directions of research and development, and potential applications of RHEAs are discussed.

Additive manufacturing (AM) of metals, also known as metal 3D printing, typically leads to the formation of columnar grain structures along the build direction in most as-built metals and alloys. These long columnar grains can cause property anisotropy, which is usually detrimental to component qualification or targeted applications. Here, without changing alloy chemistry, we demonstrate an AM solidification-control solution to printing metallic alloys with an equiaxed grain structure and improved mechanical properties. Using the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V as a model alloy, we employ high-intensity ultrasound to achieve full transition from columnar grains to fine (~100 µm) equiaxed grains in AM Ti-6Al-4V samples by laser powder deposition. This results in a 12% improvement in both the yield stress and tensile strength compared with the conventional AM columnar Ti-6Al-4V. We further demonstrate the generality of our technique by achieving similar grain structure control results in the nickel-based superalloy Inconel 625, and expect that this method may be applicable to other metallic materials that exhibit columnar grain structures during AM. 3D printing of metals produces elongated columnar grains which are usually detrimental to component performance. Here, the authors combine ultrasound and 3D printing to promote equiaxed and refined microstructures in a titanium alloy and a nickel-based superalloy resulting in improved mechanical properties.

The hot deformation behavior of the GY200 Ni-based alloys with different tungsten (W) content were investigated by means of hot compression tests, microscopic observations, and processing maps at temperatures between 950 °C and 1200 °C, strain rate between 0.01 s−1 and 10 s−1 with strain of 0.9. The hyperbolic-sine type constitutive equations were established between peaks tress and deformation conditions through Z parameters, and for alloys with higher W content results in higher activation energy and complete recrystallization temperature. The hot-working maps were exploited based on the experimental data. The hot-working maps showed that the instability zone extended with increasing W content. The stable domain of alloys are located in the temperature range between 1025 °C and 1200 °C and strain rate range between 0.01 s−1 and 1 s−1, dominated by the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) microstructural evolution, suited for hot deformation. The cracking on the surface of the sample compressed at 950 °C was resulted from the tensile stress, while the fracture of the sample compressed at 1200 °C was triggered by the melting of grain boundaries.

Welding by laser beam is a method for creating deep and narrow welds with low influence on the surrounding material. Nevertheless, the microstructure and mechanical properties change, and highly alloyed materials are prone to segregation. A new promising approach for minimizing segregation and its effects like hot cracks is introducing ultrasonic excitation into the specimen. The following investigations are about the effects of different ultrasonic amplitudes (2/4/6 µm) and different positions of the weld pool in the resonant vibration distribution (antinode, centered, and node position) for bead on plate welds on 2.4856 nickel alloy round bars (30 mm diameter) with a laser beam power of 6 kW. The weld is evaluated by visual inspection and metallographic cross sections. The experiments reveal specific mechanisms of interaction between melt and different positions regarding to the vibration shape, which influence weld shape, microstructure, segregation, cracks and pores. Welding with ultrasonic excitation in antinode position improves the welding results.