Materials Science & Engineering A 612 (2014) 414–422

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Materials Science & Engineering A

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/msea

Hot tensile and stress rupture behavior of friction welded alloy 718
in different pre-and post-weld heat treatment conditions
R. Damodaram a, S. Ganesh Sundara Raman a,n, D.V.V. Satyanarayana b,
G. Madhusudhan Reddy b, K. Prasad Rao c
a
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India
b
Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Kanchanbagh, Hyderabad 500058, India
c
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Alloy 718 rods in two different heat treated conditions (solution treatment (ST) and ST followed by aging
Received 2 April 2014 (STA)) were friction welded. The weld joints were subjected to two different post-weld heat treatments
Received in revised form (direct aging (DA) and STA). Tensile tests were carried out at 650 1C with an initial strain rate of 10
4 s
1.
12 June 2014
Stress rupture tests were performed at 650 1C at a constant load with an initial stress level of 690 MPa.
Accepted 21 June 2014
Available online 27 June 2014
The ultimate tensile strength values for all conditions, expect for base material in ST condition and weld
joints with prior ST or STA in the as-welded condition, were higher than the minimum value of
Keywords: 1000 MPa specified by the Aerospace Material Specification for the base material in STA condition. The
Alloy 718 weld joint specimen in the as-welded state with prior STA condition failed in heat affected zone (HAZ).
Friction welding
Though strengthening precipitates (γ00 ) dissolved in weld metal and HAZ during welding, HAZ was
High temperature tensile test
weaker than weld metal due to coarser grains and so failure occurred in HAZ. In all other conditions,
Stress rupture test
Post-weld heat treatment samples failed in base metal. The stress rupture properties such as minimum creep rate and time to
rupture of the base material in ST condition and as-welded joints with prior ST or STA condition are
almost same. The sample subjected to STA both before and after welding exhibits the best stress rupture
properties. It may be attributed to homogenization as well as moderate coarsening of grain structure of
weld zone and fine and uniform distribution of strengthening precipitates throughout the weldment.
However, to obtain the best combination of tensile and stress rupture properties, the material should be
welded in ST condition and it should be subjected to direct aging after welding.
& 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Friction welding is an alternative method to overcome the above

Alloy 718 is one of the most commonly used Ni–Fe based
superalloys. It possesses excellent high temperature properties
and corrosion resistance up to 650 1C. Alloy 718 is widely used in
aircraft, marine, industrial, and vehicular gas turbines [1]. The
principal strengthening precipitates in alloy 718 are γ0 (Ni3 (Al, Ti))
and γ00 (Ni3Nb) [2]. These alloys are prone to microstructural
degradation leading to Laves phase ((Ni, Cr, Fe)2 (Nb, Mo, Ti))
formation, and coarsening of strengthening precipitates as well as
Nb segregation and liquation cracking in either weld zone or heat
affected zone (HAZ) during conventional fusion welding processes
[3–5]. Laves phase formation and coarsening of strengthening
precipitates lead to inferior mechanical properties in the weld
zone or HAZ compared to base material [6,7].
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 91 44 22574768; fax: þ91 44 22570509.
E-mail address: ganesh@iitm.ac.in (S. Ganesh Sundara Raman).
limitations. Friction welding is a solid state welding process in which
a very high temperature gradient is available at joint area and it
results in narrow HAZ [8]. Chamanfar et al. [9] reported that due to
high temperature exposure and higher cooling rates in the linear
friction welding of WASPALOY, average size and volume fraction of
strengthening precipitates decrease leading to reduction in the
hardness of weld zone compared to base material. Neminathan
and Mohandas [10] reported that IN 718 as-welded joints with prior
solution treated and aged condition showed inferior room tempera-
ture and high temperature tensile properties compared to those of
the base material in the solution treated and aged condition. Roder
et al. [11] performed tensile tests on IN718 – Incoloy 909 inertia
friction weld joints at different temperatures (20 1C, 450 1C and
650 1C) and reported that failure occurred in IN718 weld zone due
to absence of γ00 strengthening precipitates. Roder et al. [12] observed
that the weld joint samples showed inferior ductility compared to
the base material due to higher plastic deformation on the Incoloy
909 side of the weld zone for IN718 – Incoloy 909 inertia friction
weld joints tested at 650 1C.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2014.06.076
0921-5093/& 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 R. Damodaram et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 612 (2014) 414–422 415

Cao [13] reported that dissolution/coarsening of strengthening
precipitates and formation of δ phase in alloy 718 play a major role
in degradation of mechanical properties such as tensile strength,
stress rupture life, creep resistance and low cycle fatigue life upon
thermal exposure up to 760 1C/500 h. Chang et al. [14] stated that a
modified heat treatment ((1) solution treatment done at 1032 1C/
1 h and aging done 843 1C/4 h followed by air cooling and again
(2) solution treatment done at 926 1C/1 h, furnace cooling to
718 1C, then aging at 718 1C followed by air cooling to room
temperature) showed an increased tertiary creep life by a factor
of 1.5–2 at 650 1C and stress level of 593 MPa compared to the
standard heat treatment in alloy 718.
Chen and Chaturvedi [15] observed that solution treatment at
1000 1C resulted in superior stress rupture time and higher strain
compared to solution treatment at 975 1C due to less volume
fraction of δ phase formation at grain boundaries. In a study on
creep behavior of alloy 718 samples tested at a stress level of
795 MPa and at 625 1C, Korth [16] reported that long term thermal
aging of alloy 718 at 650 1C for up to 50,000 h resulted in reduction
of creep rupture properties at 650 1C due to coarsening of γ00 and γ0
strengthening precipitates, which reduces coherency between the
strengthening precipitates and the matrix tested. In a study on
friction deposited alloy 718, Dilip and Janaki Ram [17] have
reported inferior stress rupture life of the samples in the as-
deposited condition compared to stress rupture life of the bulk
material due to the formation of very fine grains and absence of
grain boundary δ phase in as-friction deposited alloy 718. To
improve stress rupture properties, friction deposits were subjected
to two step solution treatment (solution treatment at 1080 1C/
30 min (for grain coarsening) followed by furnace cooling to
950 1C and then holding at 950 1C/30 min (for δ phase precipita-
tion)) and then standard aging treatment.
In an earlier work [18,19], the authors reported microstructure
and room temperature tensile properties of continuous drive
friction welded alloy 718 joints in as-welded condition and post-
weld heat treated conditions. Friction welded tensile test samples
with prior solution treatment and aging (STA) condition failed in
the weld zone due to dissolution of strengthening precipitates.
However, post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) involving STA
resulted in failure of friction welded tensile samples in the base
material. Post-weld direct aging treatment resulted in superior
microstructure and room temperature tensile properties com-
pared to post-weld STA.
The main objective of the present study is to produce friction
weld joints of alloy 718 with optimum high temperature tensile
and stress rupture properties through appropriate prior and post-
weld heat treatments.
was used for friction welding. The weld joints were produced
using the process parameters – friction pressure of 300 MPa, upset
pressure of 600 MPa, spindle speed of 1500 rpm and burn off
length of 4 mm.
After friction welding, the welded joints were subjected to two
different PWHTs- (i) two-step aging, as mentioned earlier (here-
after referred to as direct aging (DA)) and (ii) STA. DA after welding
was performed to re-precipitate strengthening phases as they go
into solution due to high temperature exposure during welding.
On the other hand, STA after welding was carried out to homo-
genize weld metal as well as to promote uniform and fine
distribution of strengthening precipitates [20].
High temperature tensile and stress rupture tests were per-
formed on friction welded samples in both the as-welded and
post-weld heat treated conditions. Drawings of specimens used for
high temperature tensile and stress rupture tests are shown in
Fig. 1. Specimens were fabricated in such a way that the friction
weld joint interface was located at the center of specimens. High
temperature tensile tests were carried out at 650 1C at an initial
strain rate of 10
4 s
1 on an electromechanical screw driven
machine of 250 kN capacity. The specimens were soaked at
650 1C for 1 h before starting the tests. Two samples were tested
in each condition. The stress rupture tests were conducted at
650 1C and an initial applied tensile stress of 690 MPa. The stress
rupture tests were carried out in a constant load creep testing
machine of 30 kN capacity. The specimen temperature during
stress rupture tests was measured in the gage and gripping
portions using R-Type thermocouples and specimen temperature
was controlled within 71 1C. The displacement was measured
using a high temperature extensometer and linear variable differ-
ential transducers assembly. The specimens were heated to 650 1C

2. Experimental procedures

The chemical composition (in wt%) of base material alloy 718 is

given in Table 1. Alloy 718 rods of 13 mm diameter were subjected
to two different heat treatments prior to friction welding viz.,
(i) solution treatment (ST) and (ii) STA. Typical STA treatment
involves solution treatment at 995 1C/1 h, 1st step aging at 720 1C/
8 h followed by furnace cooling to 620 1C and then 2nd step aging
at 620 1C/8 h followed by air cooling to room temperature. Fig. 1. Specimen drawing for (a) high temperature tensile test, (b) stress
A continuous drive friction welding machine of 200 kN capacity rupture test.

Table 1
Chemical composition (in wt%) of base material alloy 718.

Ni Cr Fe Nb Mo Ti Al V Mn S C B

51.6 18.2 19.763 5.1 3.28 1.06 0.56 0.33 0.09 0.01 0.004 0.003
416 R. Damodaram et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 612 (2014) 414–422

Fig. 3. Transmission electron micrograph of base material in ST condition showing

three grains without strengthening precipitates.

Fig. 2. Scanning electron micrograph of base material in STA condition.

and then load was applied after temperature was stabilized. Owing
to long testing duration and limitation in the resources, only one
sample was tested in each condition.
Microstructure of the samples before and after testing was
examined by using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy
(SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Specimens for
metallographic observations were mechanically polished and then
etched using Kalling's agent (5 g CuCl2, 100 ml HCl and 100 ml
ethanol). For TEM studies done on samples after mechanical
testing, samples were taken parallel to the tensile loading direc- Fig. 4. Dark field TEM micrograph of base material in STA condition showing fine
tion near the fracture location. TEM samples were mechanically disc-shaped γ0 0 strengthening precipitates.
thinned to a thickness of 100 mm using SiC abrasive papers and
then thinned by twin jet electro polishing with an electrolyte of
10% perchloric acid in methanol at
30 1C. The fracture surfaces of
tensile and stress rupture tested samples were observed using
SEM to understand the fracture mechanisms.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Microstructure

Microstructure of the base material in STA condition consists of

equi-axed grains with annealing twins (Fig. 2). The average grain size
was around 50 μm (measured using linear intercept method). A
number of randomly distributed titanium and niobium carbide
particles, as confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) Fig. 5. Stress–strain curves of base material, friction weld joint samples in as-
analysis, are also observed. Fig. 3 shows a TEM micrograph of the base welded condition and after PWHT.

material in the solution treated condition. It shows clear grain

boundaries and a few dislocations within the grains. It does not show
strengthening precipitates indicating that the precipitates have gone
into solution. The dark-field TEM micrograph of the base material in
STA condition reveals fine disc shaped γ00 strengthening precipitates
(Fig. 4), which formed during aging. The size of disc shaped γ00
precipitates was measured along length of the precipitates using
Image J software. The measurements were made at three locations
and around 18–25 precipitates were considered in each location. The
average size of γ00 precipitates is around 21 nm.
3.2. High temperature tensile test results
High temperature tensile stress–strain curves of the base material,
and friction welded alloy samples in the as-welded as well as and
post-weld heat treated conditions are shown in Fig. 5. Serrations were
observed in all the curves. Nalawade et al. [21] observed serrations in
the entire flow curve of alloy 718 base material in ST condition tested
in the temperature range of 202 1C to 700 1C. It was concluded that
diffusion of substitutional Nb solute atoms is responsible for serrated
yielding and Nb concentration also plays a role in this regard. Hayes
[22] reported that the disappearance of serrated yielding in IN 718 was
due to reaction between substitutional carbide forming atoms in the
matrix and concentration of carbon surrounding arrested dislocations.
Chen and Chaturvedi [23] observed that delay in the onset of
serrations depends on interparticle spacing or the particle size in
overaged material.
The high temperature tensile properties of base material as
well as weld joint in the as-welded and post-weld heat treated
conditions are listed in Table 2. The ultimate tensile strength
values of samples in all conditions except for base material in ST
condition and weld joint in the as-welded conditions are higher
than the minimum specified value of 1000 MPa. On the other
hand, as compared to the minimum specified value of 5%, the
percentage elongation values are higher for base material in both
ST and STA conditions and as-welded joints with prior ST condi-
tion, equal for post-weld direct aged weld joints with prior ST
condition, marginally lower for the weld joints in the following
conditions – post-weld STA with prior ST or STA conditions and
 R. Damodaram et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 612 (2014) 414–422
Table 2
High temperature tensile test results.
S. no. Material Ultimate tensile
strength (MPa)
1 ST base material 7417 20
2 STA base material 13117 25
3 STþFW 780 72
4 STA þFW 9617 22
5 STþFW þDA 1271 725
6 STA þFW þ DA 13247 15
7 STþFW þSTA 10707 10
8 STA þFW þ STA 11427 13
9 AMS 5596a (minimum) 1000
a
AMS 5596 [24].
Fig. 6. Optical micrograph of vertical cross section of a high temperature tensile
tested as-welded joint sample with prior STA condition.
post-weld direct aged with prior STA condition and much lower
for as-welded joints with prior STA condition. The base material in
ST condition showed the highest ductility value due to dissolution
of all strengthening precipitates in the matrix compared to the
base material in STA condition, which exhibited lower ductility
due to double aging leading to precipitation of strengthening
precipitates (γ0 and γ00 ).
High temperature tensile strength of the as-welded joint with
prior STA condition is inferior to that of the base material in STA
condition. However, it exhibited higher tensile strength compared
to the base material in ST condition and as-welded joint with prior
ST condition. The as-welded joint specimen with prior STA condi-
tion failed in the HAZ region (Fig. 6) whereas the samples in all
other welding conditions failed in base material (Table 2). Fig. 7
shows a TEM micrograph taken near the fracture location of a high
temperature tensile tested as-welded joint specimen with prior
STA condition. It shows a few dislocations. It does not show
strengthening precipitates. This is an evidence to indicate that all
the strengthening precipitates dissolved due to high temperature
experienced by this portion during friction welding process. HAZ
was weaker due to coarser grain size and dissolution of strength-
ening precipitates and so the failure has occurred in this region.
The high temperature tensile behavior of welds with different
thermal histories can be related to their microstructural differences.
Friction weld joint consists of three different regions such as
weld zone, thermomechanically affected zone (TMAZ) and HAZ.
Weld zone showed equiaxed fine grain microstructure [8]. During
friction welding process, weld zone experienced peak temperature
of 1118 1C (measured by using infrared thermometer) [18], which
is above the δ solvus temperature (995 1C) [2]. Weld zone cooled
rapidly to room temperature and hence there was no δ phase
formation. During friction welding process, weld zone undergoes
dynamic recrystallization due to severe plastic deformation and
high temperature, which attributes to fine grain microstructure.
417
Elongation in 30 mm Reduction in Failure location
gage length (%) area (%)
24 54 –
12 43 –
9 49 Base material
2 47 HAZ
5 44 Base material
4 44 Base material
4 49 Base material
4 51 Base material
5 – –
Fig. 7. Bright field TEM micrograph of a high temperature tensile tested as-welded
joint with prior STA condition near fracture location.
TMAZ, on the other hand, experiences insufficient temperature
and amount of plastic deformation compared to the weld zone to
undergo dynamic recrystallization [8]. Hence, these two regions
exhibit different tensile properties due to variation in the average
grain size and strengthening precipitate distribution as a result of
difference in high temperature exposure and cooling rates encoun-
tered during the friction welding process [10].
Weld zone was stronger than the HAZ region due to fine grain
microstructure. Pedron and Pineau [25] reported that no change in
the fine grain microstructure after thermal exposure at 650 1C for
4 days in IN 718 alloy. HAZ was weaker due to coarser grain size
and dissolution of strengthening precipitates. Huang et al. [26]
observed that reduction in the hardness value of IN718 HAZ was
due to dissolution of strengthening precipitates (γ00 and γ0 ) in the
inertia friction welding of Alloy 720 Li to IN718. Chamanfar et al. [9]
reported that reduction in hardness at the weld zone and 0.3 mm
away from weld interface due to all the strengthening precipitates
were dissolved in the linear friction welding of WASPALOY.
PWHT was aimed to restore tensile properties of friction weld
joints. PWHT led to higher ultimate tensile strength. After PWHT
all friction weld joint samples failed in the base material far away
from the weld zone. The fracture surfaces of high temperature
tensile tested samples showed shallow dimples indicating the
ductile mode of fracture in all the samples (Fig. 8).
3.3. Stress rupture test results
Stress rupture curves of base material and friction weld joints
in the as-welded as well as PWHT conditions (see Fig. 9 and its
inset (initial portion of curves)) exhibit limited primary and
secondary but predominant tertiary creep regime as also observed
in many other engineering alloys [27–31]. Such a creep behavior in
superalloys [28,29] and other engineering alloys [29,31] is reported
to be due to contribution of several factors such as precipitate
coarsening, instability of dislocation substructure, reduction in area
of cross-section, cavitation (internal loss of cross-section), and
418 R. Damodaram et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 612 (2014) 414–422
Fig. 8. Fractographs of high temperature tensile tested samples: (a) base material in ST condition, (b) base material in STA condition, (c) friction weld joint with prior STA
condition in as-welded condition.
Fig. 9. Variation of strain with time during stress rupture test for base material, and
friction weld joints in as-welded condition and after PWHT.
environmental attack (oxidation/sulphidation) [27]. The relative
contribution of these factors to tertiary creep under various condi-
tions has been reported elsewhere [28–30]. The creep/stress rupture
properties such as minimum creep rate (MCR), rupture time and
strain to failure are given in Table 3 and also presented in the form of
bar charts in Fig. 10. The Aerospace Material Specification (AMS)
demands a minimum rupture life of 23 h and a minimum ductility of
5% for the base material in STA condition (solution treatment at
924 1C to 1010 1C holding at 30 min, air cooling or faster cooling and
double aging at 718714 1C/8 h followed by furnace cooling to
621714 1C and then aging at 621714 1C/8 h followed by air cooling
to room temperature) tested at a stress level of 690 MPa and at
649 1C. It is interesting to note that both time to rupture and strain to
fracture values (Fig. 10) of the alloy for all conditions except strain to
fracture of base material in ST condition, are considerably higher than
the minimum specified values for the alloy 718 (Table 3 and Fig. 10).
The average grain size variation exhibited by the friction weld joint
samples and strengthening precipitates could play a major role in
determining the stress rupture behavior of friction weld joints.
In the case of base material in STA condition, the dark field TEM
micrograph shows change in size of γ00 precipitates from around
21 nm (Fig. 4) to around 79 nm after stress rupture test (Fig. 11). The
size of γ00 strengthening precipitate was significantly increased due to
long time thermal exposure at 650 1C and stress level of 690 MPa.
Slama et al. [32] reported that formation of strengthening precipitates
(γ00 and γ0 ) in alloy 718 depends on volume of Nb, time and
temperature of aging. Aging at 680 1C for 50 h resulted in ample γ00
phase with an average size of 30 nm whereas aging at 680 1C for 100 h
resulted in coarsening of γ00 phase with an average size of 50 nm.
As can be seen from Table 3 as well as Figs. 9 and 10, the creep
properties such as MCR and time to rupture of base material in ST
condition, friction weld joints in the as-welded condition with
prior ST and STA conditions are almost the same, however, fracture
strain of the latter two are higher. This may be explained in terms
of microstructural differences between these two conditions.
It may be noted that prior to stress rupture test, no strengthening
precipitates were present in the base material in ST condition and
friction weld joint sample with prior ST condition. The as-welded
joint sample with prior ST condition failed in the base material.
The dark field TEM micrograph of a sample of base material tested
in ST condition (Fig. 12) shows fine disc shaped strengthening
precipitates which formed in austenite matrix during stress
rupture test at 650 1C and the average size of γ00 strengthening
precipitate is around 32 nm. Before stress rupture test, base
 R. Damodaram et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 612 (2014) 414–422 419

Table 3
Stress rupture test results.

S. no. Material Test conditions (temperature(1C)/ Stress rupture Strain to fracture (%) Minimum creep Failure location
initial stress (MPa)) time (h) rate (h
1)

1 ST base material 650/690 300 3 1  10
5 –

2 STA base material 650/690 612 11 4.4  10
6 –
3 STþ FW 650/690 302 7.5 1  10
5 Base material
4 STA þ FW 650/690 285 6.3 8.3  10
6 Interface
5 STþ FWþ DA 650/690 530 8.3 1.3  10
5 Base material
6 STA þ FW þDA 650/690 177 21 4.5  10
5 Interface
7 STþ FWþ STA 650/690 317 5.9 3.5  10
5 Base material
8 STA þ FW þSTA 650/690 701 12 7.7  10
6 Base material
9 AMS 5596a (minimum) 649/690 23 5 – –

a
AMS 5596 [24].

Fig. 11. Dark field TEM micrograph of base material in STA condition after stress
rupture test.

Fig. 12. Dark field TEM micrograph of base material in ST condition after stress
rupture test revealing the formation of γ0 0 strengthening precipitates.

Fig. 10. Bar charts showing (a) time to rupture, (b) strain to fracture and
(c) minimum creep rate properties for base material, friction weld joints in the
as-welded condition and after PWHT.
material in ST condition contained grains without strengthening
precipitates (Fig. 3). However, precipitation, to some extent, might
have taken place during soaking at test temperature (650 1C) prior
Fig. 13. Optical micrograph of vertical cross section of a stress rupture tested
as-welded joint sample with prior STA condition.
to application of load and also, further precipitation might have
occurred on dislocations generated due to creep deformation, as
the dislocations lowers the energy barrier and hence preferential
sites for precipitation to take place.
420 R. Damodaram et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 612 (2014) 414–422
Fig. 14. Dark field TEM micrograph of a weld joint sample with prior STA condition
after stress rupture test showing γ0 0 strengthening precipitates.
Fig. 15. Optical micrograph of vertical cross section of a stress rupture tested
sample with prior STA condition and post-weld direct aged condition.
Fig. 16. Dark field TEM micrograph of a weld joint sample with prior ST condition
and post-weld direct aged condition after stress rupture test showing γ0 0 strength-
ening precipitates.
The as-welded joint sample with prior STA condition failed in
the weld zone. The microstructure of the vertical cross section of
the fracture surface of a stress rupture tested weld joint sample
with prior STA condition showed fine grain region, which confirms
that the failure occurred at weld zone (Fig. 13). It can be seen that
the stress rupture life and fracture strain of as-welded joint sample
with prior STA condition are inferior to those of base material in
STA condition. This could be attributed to dissolution of strength-
ening γ00 (Ni3Nb) precipitates in the weld zone in the sample
during welding. During friction welding process, weld zone
experienced a peak temperature of 1118 1C (measured by using
infrared thermometer) [18]. Dark field TEM micrograph confirms
formation of strengthening precipitates in the weld zone after
stress rupture test (Fig. 14). The average size of γ00 strengthening
precipitate was around 32 nm.
Friction weld joint samples were subjected to PWHT to improve
stress rupture lives. Samples after PWHT (except STAþ FWþDA
sample) showed improvement in stress rupture lives compared to
as-welded samples and these samples failed in base material. Optical
micrograph of vertical cross section of a stress rupture tested sample
with prior STA condition and post-weld direct aged condition showed
fine grain region, which confirms that the failure occurred at weld
zone (Fig. 15). Dark field TEM micrograph (Fig. 16) shows strengthen-
ing precipitates after post-weld direct aging with prior ST condition.
The average size of γ00 strengthening precipitate was around 36 nm.
The stress rupture properties of the alloy in post-weld direct aging
with prior STA condition (STAþ FWþ DA) are inferior to those of the
alloy in post-weld direct aging with prior ST condition i.e., MCR is
higher and time to rupture is lower. To check the repeatability, two
more STAþFWþDA weld joint samples were tested. The stress
rupture lives of the three samples were 167, 187 and 177 h. The
average value is 177 h. All the three samples failed in interface. So it is
the true behavior of the material in that condition. Further work is
needed to understand the reasons for this.
The alloy in post-weld STA with prior STA condition exhibits the
best stress rupture properties amongst different conditions investi-
gated in the present study. It can, probably, be attributed to
homogenization as well as moderate coarsening of grain structure
of weld zone and fine and uniform distribution of strengthening
precipitates throughout the weldment. Although this heat treatment
appears to be ideal to achieve the best stress rupture properties, it is
often not possible to adopt it practically for large sized components.
The present investigation demonstrates that although alloy in all
conditions, both as-welded and PWHT conditions exhibit superior
stress rupture properties as compared to the minimum specified
according to AMS 5596, it exhibits best stress rupture properties in
post-weld STA with prior STA condition, followed by post-weld direct
aging with prior ST condition. However, when both tensile and stress
rupture properties are considered together, the alloy in post-weld
direct aging with prior ST condition exhibits the best combination of
tensile and stress rupture properties.
The fracture surface of the alloy in all conditions except base
material in ST condition exhibit dimple features as can be seen
from Fig. 17, suggesting that fracture occurred by ductile mode
involving nucleation, growth and coalescence of microvoids.
However, the base material in ST condition with lower creep
ductility shows quasi-cleavage/shallow dimple fracture features.
4. Conclusions
Based on the results obtained in the present study dealing with
the effect of heat treatments prior to and after friction welding of
alloy 718 rods on the tensile properties and stress rupture proper-
ties at 650 1C, the following conclusions are drawn.
 The ultimate tensile strength values for all conditions, expect
for base material in ST condition and weld joints with prior ST
or STA in the as-welded condition, were higher than the
minimum value of 1000 MPa specified by the Aerospace
Material Specification for the base material in STA condition.
 The weld joint specimen in the as-welded state with prior STA
condition failed in heat affected zone (HAZ). Though strength-
ening precipitates (γ00 ) dissolved in weld metal and HAZ during
welding, HAZ was weaker than weld metal due to coarser
grains and so failure occurred in HAZ. In all other conditions,
samples failed in base metal.
 Both time to rupture and strain to fracture values of the alloy for all
conditions except strain to fracture of base material in ST condition,
are considerably higher than the minimum values (rupture life of
23 h and a ductility of 5%) specified by the Aerospace Material
Specification for the base material in STA condition.
 The minimum creep rate and time to rupture of the base
material in ST condition and as-welded joints with prior ST or
STA condition are almost same.
 R. Damodaram et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 612 (2014) 414–422 421

Fig. 17. Fractographs of stress rupture tested samples: (a) base material in ST condition, (b) base material in STA condition, (c) friction weld joint in as-welded condition with
prior ST condition, (d) friction weld joint in as-welded condition with prior STA condition, (e) post-weld direct aged condition with prior STA condition, (f) post-weld STA
with prior STA condition.

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