Environmental effect on mechanical properties of a gamma-prime strengthened nickel-based alloy: Effect of the surface oxidation and formation of gamma-prime free zones

The mechanical behavior of X-750 in rough vacuum environment was explored and compared with the mechanical behavior in air at a large range of temperatures (from room temperature to 900°C) for both Heat-Treated and Non-Heat-Treated X750 alloy. In the intermediate range of temperatures where the Portevin Le Chatelier (PLC) effect is observed, the effect of testing in air versus rough vacuum did not yield statistically significant different PLC characteristics. At temperatures above 650°C for Heat Treated and 750°C for Non-Heat-Treated X-750, the samples tested under rough vacuum had higher yield stress values than the respective samples tested under air. The decrease in yield stress under air was attributed to an oxide scale induced surface softening effect and the loss of strengthening efficiency for the gamma prime precipitates. At higher temperatures in air, around 800°-900°C, sinusoidal stress serrations in the stress strain curves indicated the occurrence of dynamic recrystallization (DRX). The vacuum environment however removed all stress serrations attributed to DRX, indicating that the surface oxidation with the concomitant formation of a γ’ free zone underneath the oxide layer plays a role in the DRX presence.