Microstructure and mechanical properties of

nickel based superalloy IN718 produced by

rapid prototyping with electron beam melting
(EBM)
A. Strondl*1, M. Palm1, J. Gnauk2 and G. Frommeyer1
A nickel alloy of a composition similar to that of the nickel based superalloy Inconel alloy 718
(IN718) was produced with the electron beam melting (EBM) process developed by Arcam AB.
The microstructures of the as processed and heat treated material are similar to that of
conventionally produced IN718, except that the EBM material showed some porosity and the d
phase did not dissolve during the solution heat treatment because the temperature of 1000uC
apparently was too low. Mechanical testing of the layer structured material, parallel and
perpendicular to the built layers, revealed sufficient strength in both directions. However, it
showed only limited elongation when tested perpendicular to the built layers due to local
agglomerations of pores. Otherwise, data for the hardness, Youngs modulus, 0?2% yield tensile
strength and ultimate tensile strength match those recommended for IN718.
Keywords: Electron beam melting, Inconel alloy 718, Mechanical properties

Introduction
Rapid prototyping (RP) or layer manufacturing techniques for polymers have been on the market for about
20 years. Recently, a number of RP techniques for
metals and ceramics have entered the market or are
being developed.1 The RP techniques are suitable for
rapid production of small series of parts possessing
complex shapes. Besides electron beam melting (EBM),2
electron beam solid freeform fabrication,3 epitaxial laser
metal forming,4 laser engineered net shaping (LENS),57
spray forming (SF),8 three-dimensional printing9 and
shaped metal deposition using metal inert gas welding10
are some techniques that are being tested for the
fabrication of nickel based superalloys. The component
is built layer by layer as an electron or laser beam
(except for SF) melts the material locally. However,
only limited data of mechanical properties of nickel
based superalloys processed by these techniques are
available.6,7
Conventional Inconel alloy 718 (IN718) is used for a
broad range of high temperature applications.11 In a
previous study, the microstructure of a material similar
to IN718, produced with EBM, was thoroughly
investigated.12 These investigations were performed on
1

Department of Materials Technology, Max-Planck-Institut fu r

Eisenforschung GmbH, Max-Planck-Strae 1, 40237 Du sseldorf,
Germany
2
VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut GmbH, Sohnstr. 65, 40237 Dusseldorf,
Germany
*Corresponding author, email annika.strondl@gmail.com

876

2011 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

Published by Maney on behalf of the Institute
Received 22 April 2009; accepted 24 June 2009
DOI 10.1179/026708309X12468927349451

a material without any subsequent heat treatment. In

this study, the evolution of the microstructure and the
related mechanical properties were evaluated by comparing them before and after heat treatment. Hardness
measurements, compression and tensile tests were
performed parallel and perpendicular to the built layers.

Experimental
A nickel based superalloy with chemical composition
within the specification limits of IN718 (Ref. 13) was
produced with EBM. A 10 mm thick plate of 906
90 mm in cross-section was heated with an electron
beam in a bed of alloy powder in a vacuum chamber. A
thin layer of the alloy powder of about 0?3 mm thickness
was then added onto the plate and melted with the
electron beam by scanning the electron beam in parallel
lines of 0?3 mm distance. This procedure was repeated,
building 0?1 mm thick layers until four blocks of
15680 mm in cross-section and 80 mm in height were
produced. In order to distribute the heat as evenly as
possible, the electron beam was scanned over the surface
in two fixed scanning directions: perpendicular to each
other and in a predetermined pattern. A temperature
of y1000uC was measured for the starting plate during
the build-up using a thermocouple. After processing, the
blocks were left in the insulating powder bed in the
process chamber and cooled in stagnant helium gas in
order to achieve a slow cooling rate. The blocks were
cooled down to 100uC before taking them out of the
chamber. This material is henceforth referred to as
EBM718-4. The material was built in a laboratory EBM

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Strondl et al.

machine at Arcam AB, Sweden, and the machine

settings were optimised for process stability only. The
material was heat treated in a muffle type furnace,
Nabertherm, according to the recommendation from
Special Metals:13 solution annealing at 1000uC for 1 h
followed by rapid cooling in water then precipitation
hardening at 718uC for 8 h, furnace cooling to 621uC,
aging at 621uC for 18 h, followed by air cooling.
The chemical compositions of the powder and of the
as processed EBM718-4 are given in Table 1. The prealloyed powder was produced via the plasma rotating
electrode process (PREP) by Advanced Specialty
Metals. The oxygen content increased during the EBM
process, which indicates low vacuum during processing.
This was explained by the presence of residual oxygen in
the EB vacuum chamber due to a leakage. The processing pressure was 161023 mbar, which is 100 times
higher than normal (161025 mbar).
For microstructure investigations by light optical
microscopy (LOM), scanning electron microscopy
(SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), the samples were
embedded, ground and polished according to a procedure described in detail in Ref. 12.
For SEM investigations, a CamScan S4 with an
energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) Link ISIS was
used. X-ray diffraction was performed on a Bruker AXS
with Co Ka radiation equipped with a general area
detector diffraction system with a high performance
two-dimensional detector. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in combination with EDS was performed
with a TSL/EDAX system in a field emission scanning
electron microscope type JSM-6500 F (Jeol) and in a
SEM type XB1540, (Zeiss).
Macro- and microhardness measurements, compression and tensile tests were performed on samples of
EBM718-4 without and with heat treatment cut parallel
and perpendicular to the built layers. Brinell hardness
(HB) was measured with a 2?5 mm diameter indenter
with a load of 187?5 kPa (1839 N) in a macrohardness
tester from Wolpert. Microhardness was measured with
a Fischerscope H100 unit with a 136u Vickers indenter

Properties of IN718 produced by rapid prototyping with EBM

on polished samples with 0?5 N load. Points were

measured automatically in a grid (five lines with
0?5 mm distance between the lines; 35 points per line,
0?75 mm step width). Samples of 56568 mm were cut
by electro-discharge machining (EDM) and tested in
compression at a strain rate of 1024 s21 at temperatures
ranging from room temperature (RT) to 1000uC. Tensile
tests for evaluating the 0?2% yield stress at RT on the
as produced material were performed on cylindrical
samples 7 mm in diameter and 35 mm gauge length,
according to the Swedish standard SS112111-7A35. The
samples were tested in a universal tensile testing machine
UTS 200. For the heat treated material, the tensile tests
were performed on cylindrical samples with 4 mm in
diameter and 20 mm gauge length, according to the
German standard DIN 50125-B 4620. Creep tests were
performed on heat treated samples at 800uC in compression and tension. For tensile and compression tests,
a universal testing machine from SchenckTrebel was
used. In compression, the load increased stepwise. All
tests were performed in air.

Results and discussion

Microstructure
EBM718-4 consist of c matrix with face centred cubic
(fcc) (A1) crystal structure with round fcc MX precipitates, (Nb,Ti)(C,N), B1 type crystal structure and
platelike orthorhombic d phase precipitates, Ni3(Nb,Ti),
D0a type of structure, as illustrated in Fig. 1.
The c matrix has up to millimetre sized large
elongated grains with a very sharp (001) texture along
the growth direction. Inside the building layers, the [001]
directions approximately coincide with the scanning
directions of the electron beam during build-up of the
sample. This is the same orientation observed before in
the EBM718-1 alloy sample.12 In Fig. 2, (111) and (200)
pole figures from as produced and heat treated
EBM718-4 measured by XRD are shown. The sample
cross-section measured is parallel to the built layers with
the normal in the building direction. The texture is

Table 1 Chemical analyses of pre-alloyed powder and EBM718-4 and limiting chemical composition from Special Metals
for Inconel alloy 718 (Ref. 13)
Element

Powder, wt-%*

EBM718-4 material, wt-%

Special Metals limits IN718

Ni
Cr
Fe
Co
Mo
NbzTa
Ti
Al
C
Mn
Si
B
Cu
P
S
V
O
N

54.82
18.08
17
0.17
3.1
5.17
0.89
0.53
0.03
0.06
0.08
0.003
0.04
0.006
0.001
0.029
0.0059
0.012

53
18
18
n.a.{
3
5.5
1.1
0.5
n.a.{
0.04
0.04
n.a.{
0.03
n.a.{
n.a.{
0.03
0.019
0.013

5055{
1721
Balance
1.0 max.
2.803.30
4.755.50
0.651.15
0.20.8
0.08 max.
0.35 max.
0.35 max.
0.006 max.
0.30 max.
0.015 max.
0.015 max.

*Chemical data from powder supplier.

{NizCo.
{Not analysed.

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Properties of IN718 produced by rapid prototyping with EBM

b
1 Images (SEM-SE) of EBM718-4 after heat treatment
showing section perpendicular to layers. Sample consists of c matrix with round MX precipitates,
(Nb,Ti)(C,N), and platelike d phase precipitates,
Ni3(Nb,Ti). Precipitates form rows, and porosity is
observed in line with precipitates, perpendicular to
layers

getting even more pronounced after the heat treatment,

as shown in Fig. 2b. The texture sharpness has also been
confirmed with EBSD based orientation microscopy (see
Fig. 3).
The platelike precipitates, possessing a length of
,10 mm and a thickness of some 100 nm, were confirmed with EBSD and EDS analysis to be d-Ni3(Nb,Ti)
phase with orthorhombic D0a structure (Fig. 3). The
orientation relationship between the d phase and the c
matrix is {111}c||(010)d; n110mc||[100]d, which is in
agreement with previous reports.1416 Face centred cubic
(Nb,Ti)(C,N) with B1 structure and round morphology
(,1 mm in diameter) are also present in the microstructure and were analysed with EBSD and EDS, and
the results are presented in Fig. 3. As expected, the fcc
MX precipitates are orientated in the same crystal
directions as the fcc c matrix. Some TiN precipitates
(,5 mm in diameter) were detected in the microstructure
of the c matrix.
Local agglomeration of porosity could be observed in
all samples. The pores are arranged in strings perpendicular to the layers (Fig. 1b). Looking at a section
parallel to the layers, the pore shape is round, and the
pores are systematically arranged and seem to originate
from a former dendrite microstructure. The precipitates

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also form rows, in line with the porosity, perpendicular

to the layers (Fig. 1). The average distance between the
rows is 510 mm. The porosity and precipitates most
likely form in the spacing between dendrites or cells,
which means as the last area to solidify.
The microstructure and constituting phases of
EBM718-4 are similar to those described for EBM7181,12 namely a c matrix with oriented c9 Ni3(Al,Ti,Nb)
precipitates of 25 nm, and c0 Ni3Nb precipitates of 5
10 nm. In addition, 0?22 mm sized precipitates of MX
(Nb,Ti)(C,N) aligned in rows along the growth direction
were detected. The distance between the rows in
EBM718-1 was 1020 mm, i.e. larger than in the present
material. In addition to the phases listed above, a
hexagonal Laves phase (Ni,Fe,Cr)2(Nb,Mo,Ti), d phase
Ni3(Nb,Ti) or the s phase CrFe could be present in the
material, but none of these phases has been detected in
the previous investigation.12 All these topological closely
packed phases are undesirable, as they may have a
detrimental effect on the mechanical properties.15 In
case of the d phase, the degradation has been attributed
to a combined result of the loss of niobium from the
matrix plus the c0 coarsening that accompanies the d
phase formation.15
The occurrence of the d phase in the current
investigated material may be attributed to slight differences in EBM process parameters and/or to differences in the compositions of the pre-alloyed powder
between EBM718-1 and EBM718-4. Also for IN718, it
has been reported that the solvus temperature for the d
phase, i.e. the temperature above which the d phase
dissolves, may vary.15,16 For example, it has been
reported that the solvus temperature increases when
the Nb content is raised.17 Possibly, the temperature of
1000uC used in the present study for solution annealing
was too low, which could explain why the d phase is
present in EBM718-4. Actually, XRD analysis of the
highest peaks of the d and of the MX phases showed
that the volume fraction of both phases has increased
after the heat treatment (see X-ray spectrum in Fig. 4).

Hardness
The Brinell hardness of EBM718-4 increased from
y340 HB in the as processed condition to y430 HB
after the heat treatment (Table 2). The microhardness
increased as well from y500 to y640 HV after the heat
treatment. These differences show the effectiveness of
the precipitation hardening treatment at 718uC for 8 h.
No significant difference in macro- and microhardness
was observed for measurements parallel and perpendicular to the layers. In addition, no difference in hardness
was observed between the bottom (starting layers) and
the top (initial layers) of the EBM processed sample.
The Youngs moduli derived from the microhardness
measurements are 1806 GPa for the as processed
material and 1988 GPa after the heat treatment.
The hardness of 450 HV (recalculated from Brinell
hardness) for EBM718-4 after the heat treatment is
higher than the minimum reference value of 355 HV
given by Special Metals for IN718.13 However, the
Youngs modulus of IN718 of y200 GPa13 is similar to
that found for EBM718-4.

Yield strength
The 0?2% yield tensile strength (YTS) has been
evaluated in compression and tension, and the results

Strondl et al.

Properties of IN718 produced by rapid prototyping with EBM

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

2 Representative (111) and (200) pole gures taken from EBM718-4 a, b as processed and c, d after heat treatment
recorded with XRD

are illustrated in Fig. 5. The difference between compression tests parallel and perpendicular to the layers is
small for both the as produced and the heat treated
material. After the heat treatment, the compressive yield
strength increases considerably below 800uC due to
precipitation hardening. At 800uC, the YTS of all
samples is about 550 MPa but at 1000uC less than
50 MPa.
When tested at 400uC, some of the specimens showed
serrated yielding. Serrated yielding has previously been
reported for IN718 at this temperature.1820 As a rate
controlling mechanism for dynamic strain aging at this

temperature, the migration of interstitial solutes, most

likely of carbon, has been proposed.
Results from tensile tests at RT of EBM718-4 in the as
processed condition and after heat treatment show that
the YTS and the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) increase
after the heat treatment (see Fig. 5). The elongation and
the area reduction were much lower perpendicular to the
layers than parallel, as described in Table 3. From
studying polished sections next to the fractures (parallel
to the pulling direction) and the fracture surfaces
(Figs. 6 and 7), the conclusion is drawn that local
groups of porosity led to the low elongation in those

Table 2 Brinell hardness HB (d52?5 mm, load5187?5 kPa) and microhardness HV (load50?5 N) and Youngs modulus
derived from microhardness measurement of EBM718-4

Hardness HB*
Hardness HV, recalculated from HB
Micro hardness{
Youngs modulus, GPa

Without heat treatment

With heat treatment

Parallel to the
layers

Perpendicular to the
layers

Parallel to the
layers

Perpendicular to the
layers

50229
1806

43010
452
64015
19812

64622
1988

33710
354
50626
19211

*Average of 10 measurements.
{Average of 25 measurements.

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Properties of IN718 produced by rapid prototyping with EBM

(b)
3 Inverse pole gure (IPF) of EBM718-4 sample recorded with EBSD: IPF colour legend of c matrix shows that almost all
grains are orientated in (001)||ND direction (indicated by the reddish colour of all grains). d phase can be seen as platelike precipitates, and IPF colour legend gives orientation of the precipitates. All green precipitates have the same
orientation. Grain boundaries that are marked black full known orientation relationship between c matrix and d phase:
{111}c||(010)d; n110mc||[100]d

specimens that were tested perpendicular to the built

layers (Fig. 7). These local groups of porosity are
arranged in parallel strings, perpendicular to the built
layers (Fig. 1b), which gives a weak area when pulling
perpendicular to the layers. After tensile testing, large
voids can be seen, which were not present before testing
(Fig. 7a).
Minimum tensile strength values from Special Metals
for IN718 at RT after the standard heat treatment used
in this study are UTS of 1241 MPa, YTS (0?2% offset)
of 1034 MPa, elongation to failure ef of 612% and

reduction of area of 815%.13 Those requirements are

met for the heat treated EBM 718-4, except that it shows
lower elongation and area reduction in the direction
perpendicular to the layers due to local agglomerate of
pores.
At high temperatures, data provided for IN718 (hot
rolled bar material, annealed at 980uC and aged) by
Special Metals for the YTS are 550 MPa at 800uC and
about 120 MPa at 1000uC.13 Data of the compression
tests (Fig. 5) show that, at 800uC, the electron beam
deposited material EBM 718-4 has the same strength but

Table 3 Results of tensile tests perpendicular and parallel to layers in as processed condition and after heat treatment

UTS, MPa
YTS (0.2), MPa
Elongation, %
Area reduction, %

880

Without heat treatment

With heat treatment

Parallel

Perpendicular

Parallel

Perpendicular

106026
82225
22
25

92920
74444
5.5
12

123822
115446
7
14

123216
118727
1.1
5

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Properties of IN718 produced by rapid prototyping with EBM

4 X-ray diffraction pattern from EBM718-4 a as processed

and b after heat treatment. Integrated signal from all
measured angles

a image (LOM) taken from polished section showing

area next to fracture; b, c SEM images [secondary electron (SE) contrast] of fracture surface
6 Specimen from as heat treated EBM718-4 after tensile
testing parallel to built layers

exhibits a considerable lower strength of less than

50 MPa at 1000uC. Perhaps, this is caused by softening
due to porosity.

Creep

5 Yield strength as function of test temperature of

EBM718-4 tested in compression (C) and in tension (T)

Figure 8 shows the results of the creep tests, which were

carried out on heat treated material in compression at
800uC by stepwise increase of the load. Creep tests were
performed parallel to the layers (test duration, 368 h)
and perpendicular to the layers (413 h). In both cases
similar values were obtained, and for both samples, the
stress exponent n, as derived from Nortons power law

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Properties of IN718 produced by rapid prototyping with EBM

7 Specimen from as heat treated EBM718-4 after tensile testing perpendicular to built layers: a image (LOM) taken from
polished section showing area next to fracture; be SEM images (SE contrast) of fracture surface. Location of magnied areas shown in d and e are indicated in b. In area d, fracture occurred in local group of voids, leaving particular
surface visible in d. Area e, which is on different level than area d, has dimpled surface, which indicates ductile fracture where the material broke outside of arrangement of pores

for creep, changed from about n54 at lower stresses to

about n510 at higher stresses. A change in stress
exponent in dependence of the applied stress, i.e. an
increase of n at higher stresses, has been frequently
observed in precipitation strengthened superalloys. The
increase has been attributed to an additional back stress
at high stresses, caused by precipitation coarsening.21 In
addition to the compression samples, a number of
samples for tension testing have been prepared by EDM.
All of them broke, either at the threads of the sample or
at the measuring length, within the first 70 h of the creep

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test, i.e. before secondary creep was attained. Again, it is

believed that porosity causes the premature failure.

Comparison of EBM718-4 with IN718 produced

by different RP techniques
Because RP techniques become more readily available, a
number of investigations have been undertaken where
IN718 has been processed by SF17 or laser rapid forming
(LRF; also known as LENS).6,7 In case of the SF
material, specifically, the precipitation behaviour of the
d phase has been studied in greater detail. It was found

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Properties of IN718 produced by rapid prototyping with EBM

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the support
of Gerhard Bialkowski for performing mechanical
testing and Dr Stefan Zaefferer and his group for
texture measurements. A special thanks also to
Arcam AB for processing IN718 by EBM for this
investigation.

References

8 Logarithm creep rate etrue versus logarithm creep stress

strue. Compressive creep tests were carried out at
800uC with stepwise increased load. Material was
tested parallel and perpendicular to built layers. For
both materials, a stress exponent of n54 is observed
at lower stresses, which changes to n510 at higher
stresses

that, compared to wrought IN718, the SF material

contained a larger volume fraction of d phase precipitates, which dissolved at about 1030uC. This is in line
with the microstructural observations on the present
EBM718-4, which also contained a considerable volume
fraction of d phase that was not dissolved by heat
treating the material at 1000uC.
The as heat treated EBM718-4 shows a YTS, which is
of the same order of magnitude as the same heat treated
material manufactured by LRF/LENS.6,7 However, the
elongation and area reduction are lower for the
EBM718-4 material. Like EBM718-4, the LENS material shows very poor elongation when tested perpendicular to the built layers.6 After hot isostatic pressing, the
LENS material showed higher yield strength, which is
explained by an improved cohesion of the successive
layers of the deposit.

Conclusions
It has been shown that nickel based superalloys like
IN718 can be successfully produced by EBM processing.
Despite some porosity stemming from the EBM process,
where the process parameters have to be optimised, and
the presence of d phase, EBM718-4 shows a promising
mechanical behaviour in that most data match those of
the respective recommendations.13 The mechanical properties will be improved by optimising the EBM process
for IN718 in order to minimise the porosity.
Furthermore, a higher solution annealing temperature
may eliminate the d phase precipitates.

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