IMPROVING C1023
MANUFACTURABILITY
USING TWO-STEP HEAT TREATMENT
N
The inherent high-
temperature strength of
superalloys that makes
these materials ideal for
applications at elevated
temperatures, such as gas
turbine components in
aero gas turbine engines,
works against the
fabricator in
manufacturing the parts.
Thermal processing is
required that puts the
material in a workable
state and then reverts it
back to its high strength
condition for service.
Iñigo Hernández*,
Amaia Subinas,
Dr. Iñaki Madariaga,
and Dr. Koldo Ostolaza
Industria de Turbo Propulsores (ITP)
Materials & Processes Dept.
Zamudio, Spain
*Member of ASM International
HEAT TREATING PROGRESS • MAY/JUNE 2007
ickel-base C1023 super-
alloy (Ni, 15.5% Cr, 9.7%
Co, 8.3% Mo, 4.1% Al) is
widely used in the man-
ufacture of equiaxed nozzle
guide vanes and seal seg-
ments for aero gas turbines,
especially in low-pressure
turbines (Fig. 1). However, in
spite of its extensive applications
in many different types of engines, Representative
this alloy is considered difficult to aero gas-turbine
engine.
weld, repair, and machine (al-
though it is considered weldable).
The high strength of this alloy is
mainly due to the presence of a fine investigation addressed heat treat-
distribution of J’ (gamma prime) pre- ments that would achieve opposite
cipitates that are formed directly after results. That is, first, it is necessary to
casting. The quick formation of these achieve a heat treatment capable of
precipitates does not allow pro- softening the material to improve all
cessing of C1023 components in a soft the aspects related to its manufac-
condition, such as that of other su- turability. After this, the development
peralloys in a solution annealed state. of a second heat treatment that
However, it is desirable to achieve would be introduced at the end of the
some kind of temporary soft condi- manufacturing process is necessary
tion that could improve the manu- to recover the original high strength
facture of C1023 components. of the material.
This article discusses this alterna-
tive with a detailed study on the re- C1023 Microstructural Features
sponse of C1023 material to different C1023 is a face centered cubic
heat treatments. The focus of the (FCC) superalloy strengthened by a
Fig. 1 — Nozzle guide vanes.
25

Fig. 2 — Typical C1023 microstructure
containing Mo (white) and Ti and Mo (black)
carbides; fine Jc is distributed in the J matrix.
2000 ×
Fig. 3 — Sample microstructure in the as
cast condition consists of a dendritic mi-
crostructure with fine Jc precipitates (Jcis
about 0.5 Pm in the interdendritic regions)
Fig. 4 - Sample microstructure in 1190ºC
heat treated and water quenched condition.
Nothing is resolvable with the SEM because
Jc has gone into solution.
Primary J ’
Secondary J ’
Fig. 5 — Sample microstructure in the as
cast + 1100ºC/8 hours and slow cooled con-
dition. A very fine distribution of secondary
gamma prime exists between the primary pre-
cipitates that precipitate during slower
cooling.
26
fine distribution of J’ precipi-
tates Ni3(Al, Ti). Most of the J’
precipitates have sizes around
1 Pm, but this material can also
have submicron sized J’ precip-
itates. MC, M23C6, and MC6 car-
bides are formed during the so-
lidification along the grain
boundaries with M being typi-
cally Mo and Ti. Figure 2 shows a rep-
resentative C1023 microstructure. In
some cases, P phase, which is consid-
ered detrimental, can appear if the
solidification of the casting is too
slow in the temperature range of 800
and 900ºC (1470 and 1650ºF).
The typical material features such
as grain size, carbides, J’ and hard-
ness can be influenced by heat treat-
ment. However, in the range of tem-
peratures where this material has
been studied in the present work, the
main microstructural changes have
been observed in the J’ size and dis-
tribution and, to a lesser extent, in the
volume fraction of carbides.
The typical service condition of
this material is as cast plus a stress re-
lief treatment carried out at a temper-
ature between 1150 and 1190ºC (2100
and 2175ºF). This heat treatment is
usually conducted to relieve the
stresses produced during the casting
process.
Heat Treatment Trials
The high strength of this alloy is
mainly due to the presence of a fine
distribution of J’ precipitates that are
formed directly after casting (Fig. 3).
Therefore, to achieve some kind of
temporary soft condition that could
improve the manufacture of C1023
components, it is necessary to
achieve coarser J’ precipitates by con-
trolling the cooling rate or overaging
in the J’ formation temperature
range. A second treatment that
would be able to dissolve the J’ and
precipitate it again with a fine distri-
bution to restore the original proper-
ties would also be necessary.
With this purpose in mind, mi-
crostructural studies were carried out
on specimens in the as cast condition
and after various heat treatments.
The different conditions included:
• As cast
• As cast + TT1190ºC/1h gas fan
quench
HEAT TREATING PROGRESS • MAY/JUNE 2007
• As cast + TT1190ºC/1h furnace
cool
• As cast + TT1190ºC/1h water
quench
• As cast + TT1190ºC/1h slow cool
(5ºC/min) to 1000ºC and then gas
fan quench
• As cast + TT1190ºC/1h gas fan
quench + TT1100ºC/1h slow cool
to 700ºC and then gas fan quench
• As cast + 1100ºC/8h furnace
cooling
• As cast + 1100ºC/8h water
quench
A key factor in this study is that
there are no visible J’ precipitates in
the microstructures of samples
heated at 1190ºC/1 hour and water
quenched (Fig. 4). This means that
complete solution of the J’ occurs at
this temperature. Therefore, it is pos-
sible to return to the standard mi-
crostructure if at the end of the man-
ufacturing process a stress relief/
solution heat treatment is carried
out. However none of the heat treat-
ments carried out holding the mate-
rial at 1190ºC and modifying the
cooling rate was capable of pro-
ducing the desired coarsening of the
J’ and then the intended softening
of the material.
The analysis of the samples heat
treated at 1100ºC for 8 hours followed
by slow cooling under high magni-
fication (20,000×) shows the forma-
tion of two different types of J’ pre-
cipitates (Fig. 5). However, as shown
in the sample quenched after 8 hours
at 1100ºC (Fig. 6), it is clear that the
fine precipitates were not formed
during the 8 hour hold at 1100ºC, and
instead, must be the result of the pre-
Fig. 6 — Sample microstructure in the as
cast + 1100ºC/8 hours and water quenched
condition. Quenching from 1100ºC avoids
the precipitation of the secondary gamma
prime, which means the precipitates of the
sample in Fig. 5 formed during slow cooling
from 1100ºC.
cipitation occurring during the slow
cooling from 1100ºC. Thus, it appears
that a partial dissolution of the J’ oc-
curs at 1100ºC, but no coarsening ef-
fect occurs.
Therefore, none of these heat treat-
ments is capable of producing the de-
sired softening of the material. This
was confirmed not only by means of
microstructural analysis but also
with the microindentation hardness
results, which are similar in all the
samples except the material
quenched in water (425 HV1). The
hardness value of the rest of the sam-
ples is about 380 HV1.
The results of the first trials led to
the exploration of using HIP (hot iso-
static pressing, or sometimes pro-
cessing) cycles, taking into account
that the cooling rate of the HIP
process is very slow from a very high
temperature.
1. As cast
4. As cast + HIP + HT
7. As cast + HIP
Fig. 7 — SEM photomicrographs of samples in various conditions show little difference in microstructure (samples 3-6 HIPed without pres-
sure; samples 7-9 HIPed with pressure). There are differences in hardness among the samples possibly due to the presence of very fine Jc precip-
itates that are not resolvable at the SEM magnification of 5,000×.
HEAT TREATING PROGRESS • MAY/JUNE 2007
HIP Study
During this heat treatment study,
C1023 material was also the focus of
an investigation directed toward the
reduction of the shrinkage formed on
C1023 components during the
casting process. The material was
processed by hot isostatic pressing
(HIP), a process used to help close the
internal porosity of castings, and
widely used in aircraft gas turbine
industry.
The cooling rate of the process is
very slow from the very high temper-
atures of the HIP cycles, in this case
1200ºC (2190ºF), and such a cooling
rate would most likely lead to a slight
modification of the microstructure
and the properties of C1023. Based
on the results of the heat treatment
studies, it was believed that a holding
period at 1200ºC would be able to
fully dissolve the J’. Afterward, a
2. As cast + 2 HT
5. As cast + HT + HIP
8. As cast + HT + HIP
very slow cooling rate such as that
associated with HIP would be able
to achieve the coarsening of the J’ that
was not achieved with the heat treat-
ments investigated.
Using as a basis the standard HIP
conditions of 1200ºC for 4 hours and
100 MPa (14,500 psi) pressure, labo-
ratory samples were processed using
a variety of thermal cycle combina-
tions including:
1. As cast
2. As cast + 2HT
3. As cast + HIP without pressure
(NP)
4. As cast + HIP (NP) + HT
5. As cast + HT + HIP (NP)
6. As cast + HT + HIP (NP) +HT
7. As cast + HIP
8. As cast + HT + HIP
9. As cast + HT + HIP +HT
The first part of the study covered
the cycles 1 to 6 described. At this
3. As cast + HIP
6. As cast + HT + HIP + HT
9. As cast + HT + HIP + HT
27
Table 1 — Hardness comparison after different HIP cycle combinations
Trial Condition of sample Microindentation hardness, HV1 Sample Ref. No.
1 As cast 374.6 ±6.4 S-067-05A
2 As cast + 2 HT 378.9 ±6.3 S-067-05B
3 As cast + HIP (no pressure) 347.4 ±6.4 S-067-05C
4 As cast + HIP (no pressure) + HT 371.8 ±6.2 S-067-05D
5 As cast + HT + HIP (no pressure) 341.8 ±7.4 S-067-05E
6 As cast + HT + HIP (no pressure) + HT 379.5 ±6.3 S-067-05F
7 As cast + HIP (with pressure) 356.5 ±6.5 S-067-05G
8 As cast + HT + HIP (with pressure) 358.4 ±6.5 S-067-05H
9 As cast + HT + HIP + HT 371.9 ±5.7 PCB ref 05/0637

stage of the study, it was considered
that the influence of the HIP pressure
on the microstructural evolution of
the material would be negligible and
all the cycles were conducted without
pressure. The solution treatment at
1190ºC/1h/slow cooling to 1000ºC
and then gas fan quench is defined
as HT.
Arbitrary units
Cycles 7 to 9 were conducted in the
second part of the study. These cy-
cles were carried out on samples ex-
tracted from components that had
been HIPed in production furnaces,
in an attempt to determine if the mi-
crostructural changes observed on
laboratory scale furnaces and sam-
ples could also be observed on pro-
SR 850°C no HIP
SR 850°C HIP + HT
SR 850°C HT + HIP + HT
SR 850°C database typical
SR 850°C database minimum
duction parts.
The heat treatments were analyzed
by comparing the microstructures
obtained after each cycle and also by
measuring microindentation hard-
ness. The results of all combinations
of heat treatments and HIP cycles are
presented in Fig.7, and the correspon-
ding hardness values are listed in
Table 1. There is not a great deal of
variation in the microstructures of
the different treatments, but hardness
decreases for samples that were
processed using HIP cycles (with or
without pressure), and that did not
receive a final heat treatment at

1190ºC. In the particular case of sam-

ples 3 and 5, the obtained hardness
value is below 350 HV compared
with the original values of 380 HV for
the as cast material and the as cast +
stress relieved material. The results
also demonstrate that although HIP
produces a decrease in hardness, the
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 original hardness of the as cast ma-
Time to rupture, h
terial could be recovered by treating
Fig. 8 — Relative stress rupture time of HIP and non-HIP material. the material at 1190ºC.
The differences between the dis-
No HIP
similar hardness values can not be
HIP + HT explained on the basis of the mi-
HT + HIP + HT crostructural features observed on
Database typ. the material at SEM resolution. For
Database minimum example, Fig. 7 does not show any
clear microstructural differences be-
Arbitrary units

tween any of the samples analyzed.

However, apart from the micron-
sized precipitates that can be seen
using SEM, this material also has
much smaller J’ precipitates that can
not be resolved using SEM, and that
can explain the differences among
the samples.
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200
Temperature, °C Mechanical Testing
Fig. 9 — Relative ultimate tensile strength of HIP and non-HIP material. The results above show it is pos-
30 HEAT TREATING PROGRESS • MAY/JUNE 2007
sible to achieve a softening of C1023
by heat treatment and then recover
the original properties by performing
a second heat treatment. To verify
these results, mechanical tests were
conducted, including tensile, stress
rupture, low cycle fatigue (LCF), and
impact tests. Figs 8 and 9 show the
result of the stress rupture and ten-
sile tests conducted on samples
processed with and without the HIP
cycle. In both cases, the results ob-
tained with and without HIP are
comparable.
LCF and impact tests also show the
same trend observed in the stress
rupture and tensile tests with very
little differences among sample
processed with and without HIP,
with all the results within the typical
scatter of properties of this material.
Therefore, while it seems the mate-
rial is softer immediately after the
HIP treatment (as indicated by the
reduced hardness), the final heat
treatment is capable of fully dis-
solving the J’ and producing an im-
proved precipitation pattern upon
cooling, which is able to restore its For more information:
original properties. Iñigo Hernández
Industria de Turbo Propulsores, ITP, S.A.,
Conclusions Parque Tecnológico
Edificio 300
Test results show that it is possible
48170 Zamudio, Spain
to achieve a significant reduction in
tel: 34 94 466 2924
the hardness of C1023 after 4 hours e-mail: inigo.hernandez@itp.es
at 1200ºC followed by controlled Internet: www.itp.es
slow cooling. A starting microinden-
tation hardness of 375 HV was re-
duced to 341 HV on laboratory sam-
ples and to 356 HV on real
components. This suggests it could
be possible to improve the machin-
ability and weldability of this alloy
after HIP. The application of an
1190ºC heat treatment for 1 hour is
able to fully dissolve the coarse pre-
cipitates formed during HIP, and it
is possible subsequently to form a
fine distribution of the precipitates,
which restores the original proper-
ties. Results of tensile, stress rupture,
impact, and hardness tests are better
after HIP + HT than those in the as
cast + HT condition. These results
confirm the restoring effect of
the 1190ºC heat treatment.

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