Prediction of Grain Size in a High Cobalt Nickel-Based Superalloy

With the advancement in computational approaches and experimental, simulation, and modeling tools in recent decades, a trial-and-validation method is attracting more attention in the materials community. The development of powder metallurgy Ni-based superalloys is a vivid example that relies on simulation and experiments to produce desired microstructure and properties in a tightly controlled manner. In this research, we show an integrated approach to predicting the grain size of industrial forgings starting from lab-scale cylindrical compression by employing modeling and experimental validation. (a) Cylindrical compression tests to obtain accurate flow stress data and the hot working processing window; (b) double-cone tests of laboratory scale validation; (c) sub-scale forgings for further validation under production conditions; and (d) application and validation on full-scale industrial forgings. The procedure uses modeling and simulation to predict metal flow, strain, strain rate, temperature, and the resulting grain size as a function of thermo-mechanical processing conditions. The models are calibrated with experimental data until the accuracy of the modeling predictions is at an acceptable level, which is defined as the accuracy at which the results can be used to design and evaluate industrial forgings.