MIM processing and plasma sintering of nickel base superalloys for aerospace and automotive applications

Abstract

Gas atomised and water atomised nickel base superalloy powders having compositions close to standard Nimonic 90 were MIM processed and sintered in a PADS (plasma assisted debinding and sintering) reactor under argon at 1280–1310°C. A single, integrated debinding–sintering cycle of just under 10 h consistently yielded parts of >98% density that did not require hipping to achieve mechanical properties typical of heat treated wrought Nimonic 90 components. The best overall results were attained with the water atomised material sintered at lower temperatures. These results are particularly relevant to the development of turbine components for the automotive and aerospace industries.