Abstract
Incipient melting of IN939 superalloy was investigated during solution annealing. In addition, the effect of this phenomenon was studied on hot workability of the alloy. The incipient melting was detected to be within the temperature range 1150–1160°C, which has been reported to be the standard temperature range of solution annealing of this material. The local melted regions were enriched in Zr, Nb and B elements, which appeared in the form of three different phases. The results also showed that even small amounts of local melted regions impair hot workability of the alloy. The use of long time solution annealing at 1150°C or a two-step solution heat treatment has been recommended to delay the incipient melting of the alloy. These treatments enhance hot workability of the alloy.
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