Elemental Effects on Nickel Base Superalloy Powders

The interest in powder metal superalloys has continued to grow since the 1960’s with the development of the Gatorizing process.  As a result, the processing of powder metal superalloys has evolved into a combination of special compositions and process routes based on the mechanical property constraints of the application.  Typically, powder metal alloys utilized high gamma prime forming compositions to accommodate the high turbine inlet temperatures in combination with high carbon and boron compositions to control grain growth and creep resistance.  As the applications of powder metal superalloys expand, compositions tailored to meet specific property requirements in the bore and rim of components are being developed.  Elemental considerations relative to superalloy powder processing, material costs and the effect on superalloy properties will be discussed.