Double minimum creep of single crystal Ni-base superalloys

Low temperature (750 degrees C) and high stress (800 MPa) creep curves of single crystal superalloy ERBO/1 tensile specimens loaded in the (001) direction show two creep rate minima. Strain rates decrease towards a first sharp local creep rate minimum at 0.1% strain (reached after 30 min). Then deformation rates increase and reach an intermediate maximum at 1% (reached after 1.5 h). Subsequently, strain rates decrease towards a global minimum at 5% (260 h), before tertiary creep (not considered in the present work) leads to final rupture. We combine high resolution miniature creep testing with diffraction contrast transmission electron microscopy and identify elementary processes which govern this double minimum type of creep behavior. We provide new quantitative information on the evolution of microstructure during low temperature and high stress creep, focusing on gamma-channel dislocation activity and stacking fault shear of the gamma'-phase. We discuss our results in the light of previous work published in the literature and highlight areas in need of further work. (C) 2016 Acta Materialia Inc. Published, by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.