This project is aimed at investigating the relationship between fatigue performance and deformation micro-mechanisms of a Ni-based single-crystal superalloy. A particular focus is directed towards the study of local cyclic plasticity near the stress raiser responsible for fatigue crack initiation, conducted by means of focused ion beam (FIB) lift-outs and subsequent transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations. Such experiments promise to provide new insight into crack initiation mechanisms in Ni-based superalloys, thereby contributing to the improvement of reliability and performance of aerospace components such as single-crystal turbine blades.

Researcher: Alessandro Piglione, Dr Jinqian Zhao, Dr Jian Yu