Hot cracking susceptibility of the Fe–Ni-based precipitation hardening cast superalloy Alloy 718 was studied by Varestraint weldability testing. The effect of two hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatments commonly employed in the aerospace industry was investigated in reference to the as cast condition. It was found that the heat affected zone (HAZ) liquation cracking susceptibility increased for samples with pre-weld HIP treatments. The as cast condition disclosed the best response for liquation cracking followed by HIP-1120 (1120°C/4h (HIP) + 1050°C/1h and furnace cooling to 650°C/1h in vacuum + 950°C/1h) and HIP-1190 (1190°C/4h (HIP) + 870°C/10h and furnace cooling to 650°C/1h in vacuum + 950°C/1h). The amount of the secondary precipitates and base metal grain size was found to be important parameters influencing the cracking susceptibility. Regarding solidification cracking susceptibility, the three conditions appear to behave similarly.

Varestraint weldability testing and Gleeble thermomechanical simulation of the newly developed cast form of Haynes^® 282^® were performed to understand how heat-affected-zone (HAZ) liquation cracking is influenced by different preweld heat treatments. In contrast to common understanding, cracking susceptibility did not improve with a higher degree of homogenization achieved at a higher heat-treatment temperature. Heat treatments with a 4 h dwell time at 1120 °C and 1160 °C exhibited low cracking sensitivity, whereas by increasing the temperature to 1190 °C, the cracking was exacerbated. Nanosecond ion mass spectrometry analysis was done to characterize B segregation at grain boundaries that the 1190 °C heat treatment indicated to be liberated from the dissolution of C–B rich precipitates.

The influence of two hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatments on liquation behavior was investigated and compared with regard to the extent of heat-affected zone liquation cracking in cast Alloy 718. The extent of liquation was seen to increase after HIP treatment at 1190 °C due to solute changes caused by the homogenization of Nb, which contributed to extensive grain boundary melting. The HIP treatment at 1120 °C exhibited lower liquation with contributions from particle liquation of the Laves phase and constitutional liquation of NbC carbides. This was also reflected in a lower ductility recovery temperature, with slower recovery for the former due to the extensive liquation. Interestingly, the nil ductility temperatures were both below the predicted equilibrium solidus of the alloy, which suggests that the ductility drop is related to liquation caused by solute segregation at the grain boundaries.

Varestraint testing of the newly developed cast ATI® 718Plus™ after pseudo-HIP (hot isostatic pressing) heat treatments showed that the extent of solidification cracking was independent of the heat treatment condition. The susceptibility towards heat-affected zone (HAZ) liquation cracking was found to be related to the heat treatment dwell time rather than the temperature. The heat treatments at 1120 and 1190 °C for 24 h were the most susceptible to cracking. On the other hand, heat treatments at 1120, 1160 and 1190 °C for 4-h dwell time exhibited the least amount of cracking. The solidification cracking was found to be similar whereas the HAZ liquation cracking was lower for ATI® 718Plus™ after the heat treatment at 1120 and 1190 °C for 4-h dwell time in comparison to cast Alloy 718.