Journal of Alloys and Compounds 329 (2001) 290–297 L

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Structure of continuously cast Ni-based superalloy Inconel 713C

F. Zupanicˇ a , *, T. Boncina
ˇ a , A. Krizman
ˇ a
, F.D. Tichelaar b
a
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia
b
Laboratory of Materials Science, Delft University of Technology, Rotterdamseweg 137, 2628 AL Delft, The Netherlands
Received 9 May 2001; accepted 28 May 2001

Abstract

In this work, we characterised the structure of continuously cast Ni-based superalloy IN 713C ([ 10 mm, water cooled Cu–Be mould,
argon atmosphere) using several microstructural characterization techniques (LM, SEM, TEM, EDS, XRD). The structure consisted of
columnar dendritic g-grains with apparently fully coherent and rather uniformly distributed g9 precipitates (size |50 nm), primary MC
carbide and MC / g eutectic. The eutectic MC carbide contained a considerable amount of Cr: (Nb 0.4 Mo 0.25 Ti 0.18 Cr 0.16 )C resulting in a
decrease in the MC lattice constant from 0.441 to 0.435 nm. Due to higher cooling rates at continuous casting the microstructural
constituents were much finer than in the as-received and DTA samples. In addition, the continuously cast specimens did not contain the
g/ g9 eutectic and some minor phases despite stronger segregation of solute elements. The partition coefficients of solute elements Ti, Mo,
Nb, Al, Cr, Fe and Ni in the continuously cast IN 713C were 0.55, 0.82, 0.46, 0.99, 0.96, 1.02 and 1.03, respectively.  2001 Elsevier
Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Transition metal alloys; High temperature alloys; Casting; X-Ray diffraction; TEM

1. Introduction observed [5,6]: the normal one with lattice constant a5

Inconel 713C (IN 713C) belongs to the group of
vacuum melted Ni-based superalloys. It was developed in
the 1950s, and due to its extraordinary properties it was
widely used in different high temperature applications,
even as a blade material [1]. Even today it is used in large
quantities, but mainly in the form of precision cast parts
for hot-end turbocharger wheels in the automotive indus-
try. The alloy is usually vacuum induction melted and
conventionally cast into steel tubes in the form of cylindri-
cal bars. The bars are remelted in foundries and cast into
final shapes. In order to decrease the production cost and
product quality of remelting bars, a continuous casting
process is being developed [2] to replace the conventional
casting. Experimental continuous casting of small cross-
section rods has been carried out successfully [3], sug-
gesting that continuous casting will be a viable process for
industrial manufacturing of IN 713C.
Several studies [4–7] showed that the microstructure of
precision cast parts consisted of dendritic g-grains, primary
and eutectic MC carbide, and coherent g9 precipitates. Two
types of MC carbide with NaCl-type structure were
*Corresponding author.
ˇ
E-mail address: franc.zupanic@uni-mb.si (F. Zupanic).
0.40 nm and an ‘anomalous’ one with a50.43 nm. The
latter carbide contained some Zr [5]. Sometimes the g/ g9
eutectic and M 6 C carbide were also observed [4,7]. With
continuous casting there are much higher cooling rates
than with conventional casting, which might greatly in-
fluence microstructure evolution during solidification.
Therefore our work focuses on microstructure characterisa-
tion of continuously cast IN 713C, and the microstructure
is compared to that formed at DTA (constant cooling rate
of 108C / min) and at conventional casting (as-received
condition).
2. Experimental procedure
Table 1 gives the composition of the IN 713C used in
this work. It is to be noted that all compositions are given
in mass percent unless otherwise stated. The as-received
condition represented a bar, 30 mm in diameter, which was
produced by conventional manufacturing process compris-
ing vacuum induction melting and casting into steel
moulds under a protective argon atmosphere. The continu-
ously cast samples were produced by casting the alloy
heated to 1400–14508C into a 10-mm water-cooled Cu–Be

0925-8388 / 01 / $ – see front matter  2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S0925-8388( 01 )01676-0
 F. Zupanicˇ et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 329 (2001) 290 – 297 291

Table 1
Chemical composition of the investigated alloy IN 713C
Cr Al Ti Nb Mo C Fe Si B W Ni
13.15 6.04 0.78 2.11 4.19 0.15 1.42 0.13 0.012 0.25 Remaining
All compositions in this study are given in mass percent unless otherwise stated.

mould at casting speeds ranging from 8.33 to 12.33 mm / s Therefore, the solidification range of IN 713C was approx-
under an argon atmosphere. imately 658C.
DTA analysis was performed in order to determine the The structure of DTA specimen consisted of equiaxed g
solidification range of IN 713C, and coupled with the grains with dendritic morphology. The average grain size
microstructural analysis also the solidification path. In determined by the linear intercept method was approxi-
addition, the structure of the DTA specimen represented a mately 1000 mm, and the average thickness of the dendritic
reference for the continuously cast structure. DTA was arms was around 100 mm. MC carbide was present mainly
carried out in the temperature range between 500 and in the interdendritic space, although some carbide particles
14008C in an argon atmosphere at a heating and cooling were also observed within the g grains. In larger inter-
rate of 0.178C / s. A specimen with a mass of 1800 mg was dendritic spaces, a complex regular MC / g eutectic was
held in an alumina crucible in the DTA apparatus made by present (Fig. 1a). The average composition as determined
¨ Thermoanalyse GmbH.
Bahr by EDS was: 70.78% Ni, 13.13% Cr, 1.274% Ti, 4.50%
Sample preparation was carried out using the standard Al, 4.89% Mo, 4.96% Nb and 1.46% Fe. It contained less
mechanical grinding and polishing techniques. The sam- Fe and Al, but more Nb, Ti and Mo relative to the nominal
ples for light (LM) and scanning electron microscopy composition of the alloy. In eutectic pools, the MC carbide
(SEM) were lightly etched by immersing in a solution was present in the form of faceted rods with cross-sections
consisting of 37 ml HCl and 6.3 g K 2 Cr 2 O 7 in 125 ml
distilled water. Extraction replicas were prepared by a
two-stage method. SEM studies were carried out using a
JEOL 840A scanning electron microscope fitted with a
Link Analytical energy dispersive X-ray microanalyzer
(EDS). The composition of particles in bulk specimens and
carbon replicas, as well as microsegregation behaviour of
alloying elements were carried out using EDS (Link
Analytical), and ZAF-4 FLS program was used for semi-
quantitative analyses. Minor phases (e.g. MC carbide) were
extracted by electrochemical dissolution of g and g9 phases
in a solution of 40 ml HCl and 4 g tartaric acid in 360 ml
methanol at 3 V. XRD was performed using an X-ray
powder diffractometer, Philips PW 1710 (Cu Ka radiation,
208C). The curves were recorded at a scanning rate of
0.0258 / s with 2u (Bragg angle) scan range from 5 to 808.
Thin foils for TEM investigations were made by elec-
trolytic thinning using a solution of 10% perchloric acid,
and 20% glycerol in methanol. Electron transparent thin
regions were scarce, therefore specimens were additionally
ion beam thinned. TEM studies were carried out in a
Philips CM30T and a CM30UT-FEG, as well as a JEOL
2000 FX microscope.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Investigation of DTA and conventionally cast

samples

The DTA results showed that at a heating rate of Fig. 1. Microstructure of a DTA sample (500↔14008C, 108C / min,
108C / min the incipient melting point appeared at 12708C, argon): (a) LM micrograph, (b) SEM micrograph (the smallest arrow
and that upon cooling the g phase formed at 13358C. indicates a g9 precipitate).
292 F. Zupanicˇ et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 329 (2001) 290 – 297

of approximately 434 mm. In addition, on grain

boundaries as well as in the interdendritic regions, blocky
MC carbide was observed (arrow in Fig. 1a). The com-
position of MC carbide was (Ti 0,25 Nb 0.50 Mo 0.15 )C, which
was similar to that determined by Bhambry et al. [4]. We
did not find any difference in composition between carbide
particles in the eutectic, interdendritic space and at grain
boundaries. The same result was also obtained for the
as-received condition.
The average composition at the cores (centrelines) of
dendritic arms determined using EDS was 74.40% Ni,
12.81% Cr, 0.54% Ti, 5.92% Al, 3.40% Mo, 1.02% Nb
and 1.73% Fe. In the interdendritic spaces between 100
mm in diameter dendritic arms where no carbide or other
particles were present the composition was: 73.96% Ni, Fig. 2. XRD diagram of extracted minor phases in the as-received and
12.55% Cr, 0.64% Ti, 6.02% Al, 3.72% Mo, 1.51% Nb continuously cast specimens.
and 1.43% Fe. Since the differences in composition were
very small, the microsegregation was not very pronounced. attributed to the difference in composition arising from
Nevertheless, in some interdendritic spaces the effect of microsegregation. All these results are in line with previ-
microsegregation was strong enough to cause the forma- ous studies on IN 713C [4,5].
tion of the g/ g9 eutectic (Fig. 1b). The major phase in the The microstructural characterization of DTA specimen
g/ g9 eutectic was g9. The average composition of the g/ g9 suggested the following reaction sequence: L→MC,
eutectic was 82.12% Ni, 4.15% Cr, 1.76% Ti, 7.61% Al, L→g1MC, L1MC→g1g9, L1g9→M 6 C?1g, and g9
0.82% Mo, 2.54% Nb and 0.64% Fe. We have to stress precipitation in the solid state. The microstructure suggests
here that the chromium and molybdenum contents in the that solidification of this alloy begins with the crystalliza-
g/ g9 eutectic were much smaller than their average content tion of the MC carbide [4]. The volume fraction of the
in the alloy, so they must have been rejected into the primary MC carbide is rather small, with a corresponding-
remaining liquid. During solidification of the last liquid ly small thermal effect; therefore it is very difficult to note
phase next to the g/ g9 eutectic, a two-phase structure the beginning of crystallisation on the cooling curve (peak
formed, which was different from the MC / g or g/ g9 1 in Fig. 3). The beginning of peak 2 at 13358C corre-
eutectics. EDS analysis showed that the brighter phase sponds to the formation of the g phase. Under this
contained Mo, Cr, Ni and C (42% Mo, 40% Cr, 15% Ni), temperature, is in fact the alloy in three-phase space
so it might be a M 6 C carbide as in Ref. [7]. Very rarely we L1MC1g. The reaction is eutectic since upon cooling the
also observed small islands of a phase, which contained volume fractions of the MC and g phases increase. But at
some minor solute elements, e.g. W, Zr and Si. Because of this stage these phases probably grow independently of one
the small volume of the DTA sample we could not perform another. The carbide particles may be either pushed by the
the XRD to determine the phase composition of minor g grains into the interdendritic space or entrapped in them.
phases more accurately. However the microstructure of the Since carbide particles float in the melt they can adopt
as-received specimen was very similar to that of the DTA several morphologies (e.g. Chinese script). During the
sample indicating similar solidification conditions and
formation of equal phases. Therefore we extracted minor
phases from the as-received specimen and carried out
XRD. The XRD diagram (Fig. 2, upper curve) showed
only peaks belonging to MC carbide and undissolved g/ g9
phases. We determined the peak positions using Winfit and
least square refinement gave us the lattice constant a5
0.441860.0005 nm. This lattice constant is very close to
that of the normal MC carbide [5].
The g9 precipitation took place under the g9 solvus. The
g9 precipitates were present in the form of ogdoadically-
diced cubes. Their size was between 200 and 300 nm at the
core of dendrite arms, and between 500 and 800 nm close
to the interdendritic space, as measured in SEM mi-
crographs (Fig. 1b). Since there were no differences
between the cooling rates at the core and interdendritic
space, the difference in the precipitate size can only be Fig. 3. DTA cooling curve (1400→5008C, 108C / min, argon).
 F. Zupanicˇ et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 329 (2001) 290 – 297
Fig. 4. Typical macrostructure of continuously cast IN 713C (casting
temperature: 14208C, average casting speed: 10.17 mm / s, [ 10 mm
Cu–Be mould, argon atmosphere).
initial independent growth of g and MC the melt becomes
progressively enriched in Nb, Mo, and Ti. This increases
the fraction of MC carbide in the eutectic and at some
places, coupled growth starts, resulting in a complex
regular MC / g eutectic. This is connected with the more
intense release of latent heat giving rise to the appearance
of the third peak. After this reaction has finished, only melt
Fig. 5. Typical microstructure of continuously cast IN 713C; 1, dendrite centre; 2, border between the dendrite core and the interdendritic region; 3,
interdendritic region; 4, (MC1g) eutectic pools.
293
pools remain most enriched with positively and depleted
with negatively segregating solutes. There, a two-phase
g/ g9 eutectic forms, probably via the MC1L→g1g9
reaction. In this reaction, chromium and molybdenum are
rejected into the remaining liquid, which probably
solidifies according to the reaction: L1g9→M 6 C?1g.
Under the g9 solvus (11358C) precipitation of g9 phase
takes place in quite a wide temperature interval down to
7008C.
3.2. Constituents of the continuously cast IN 713 C
Fig. 4 shows a typical macrostructure of continuously
cast rods, which consisted predominantly of columnar g
grains. The periodic macrostructure was a result of the
‘alternating drawing mode’ at continuous casting [3].
The microstructural constituents present in the continu-
ously cast rods were much finer than in the DTA sample
due to higher cooling rates. The microstructure still
consisted of the g phase, primary and eutectic MC carbide,
and g9 precipitates, but no g/ g9 eutectic and other minor
phases were observed, despite stronger segregation of
solute elements (Fig. 5). The solidification sequence seems
to be the same as in the DTA sample, apart from being
terminated with the eutectic L→MC1g reaction.
Fig. 6 shows the XRD diagram of the continuously cast
rod (average casting speed 10.17 mm / s). Most of the peaks
may be attributed to g9Ni 3 (Al,Ti), which possesses the
ordered L1 2 structure (Cu 3 Au prototype), of space group
Pm3 m. However, h111j, h200j and h220j peaks are in fact
superpositions of reflections from both the ordered g9 and
the disordered f.c.c. g phase. The fact that they almost
perfectly coincide indicates very similar lattice constants of
both phases, and therefore very small lattice mismatch. By
294 F. Zupanicˇ et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 329 (2001) 290 – 297

Fig. 6. XRD diagram of continuously cast IN 713C (average casting

speed 10.17 mm / s).

analysing the XRD diagram we were not able to detect any

difference in lattice constants of both phases. Therefore we
determined the positions of the peaks 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7, and
using the least squares method calculated the lattice
constant to be 0.3590 (60.0002) nm, which applies to both
phases. The TEM study revealed the presence of a high
volume fraction (at least 70%) of the g9 precipitates in the
g matrix (Fig. 7a); this was considerably higher than
reported by Bhambry et al. [4], and may be attributed to a
greater amount of g9 forming elements dissolved in the
g-matrix after solidification. The g9 precipitates possessed
a cuboidal morphology; i.e. cubes with rounded edges,
which are typical for superalloys cooled with higher
cooling rates [8]. There were a coarse (35–60 nm) and a
fine (2–5 nm) population of precipitates (Fig. 7a). Bham-
bry et al. [4] suggested that the coarser population formed
at higher and the finer one at lower temperatures. A
selected area diffraction pattern (Fig. 7b) shows the usual
cubic orientation relationship h100j g ih100j g9 and
k100l g ik100l g9 between g and g9 phases. Because the
diffraction spots originating from the crystallographically Fig. 7. Transmission electron micrographs of rod (average casting speed
equivalent planes of both phases completely coincide, they 10.17 mm / s, drawing stroke centre): (a) dark field, employing a superrefl-
not only share the same orientation relationship, but within ection of type 100 and (b) selected area diffraction pattern; small spots,
the experimental error also the same lattice constants. The superreflections of g9 precipitates, large spots, g matrix1g9 precipitates.
lattice constant calculated after analysing several diffrac-
tion patterns was 0.358 (60.004) nm, which matches
nicely with that determined from the XRD diagram. which follow the shape of the dendritic arm (smaller arrow
In the continuously cast rods, MC carbide was present in Fig. 8a), and they branched frequently. These branches
either in the form of small discrete particles (primary grew in the form of rods together with the g phase into the
carbides) located mainly in the interdendritic spaces, or as remaining liquid. The larger arrow indicates further
a constituent of the MC / g eutectic (Fig. 5). In the MC / g branching of the rod. In larger eutectic pools, the morphol-
eutectic, MC usually possessed a rod-like morphology, the ogy of the eutectic MC carbide was also rod-like, but close
rod diameter was between 15 and 30 nm (Fig. 8). The rods to the boundaries of the eutectic cells rods usually turned
had the ability to branch readily, thus allowing coupled to plates (see arrow in Fig. 8b). The composition of
growth of MC and g. carbides was determined by EDS on carbon replicas in
Fig. 8a shows the eutectic MC carbide which has formed order to eliminate the influence of the matrix. It was found
between dendrite arms. The carbide particles are present, to be (Nb 0.41 Mo 0.25 Ti 0.18 Cr 0.16 )C. It means that they
 F. Zupanicˇ et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 329 (2001) 290 – 297 295

Fig. 8. MC in MC / g eutectic (a) between dendrite arms (TEM, carbon replica), (b) in large eutectic pools (SEM). The smaller arrow in (a) indicates the
MC carbide following the shape of the dendritic arm, and the larger arrow indicates further branching of MC rods. The arrow in (b) shows the transition
rod / plate of MC carbide in MC / g eutectic.

contain much more Cr and Mo, but less Ti and Nb than the
MC carbide in the DTA sample. This can be attributed to
higher cooling rates at continuous casting, which promoted
the formation of MC carbide with a non-equilibrium
composition. This also resulted in a change of its lattice
constant to a50.435060.0002 nm as determined by the
analysis of the corresponding XRD diagram (Fig. 6, lower
curve). This decrease in the lattice constant can be
explained by taking into account that the atomic radius of
Cr is smaller than those of Ti and Nb (R Cr 5124.9 pm,
R Ti 5144.8 pm and R Nb 5142.9 pm). So the replacement of
Ti and Nb atoms by smaller Cr atoms in the MC will be
accompanied by a decrease in the lattice constant. In the
same way one can explain the larger lattice constant of
anomalous MC carbide, which was found to contain the
larger Zr atoms [5] (R Zr 5159 pm).
Closer examination of the XRD diagram revealed the
presence of small peaks at 2u angles slightly smaller than
those corresponding to chromium-rich MC carbide with
a50.4350 nm (the most pronounced is double peak h222j
MC in Fig. 6). It was found that these peaks belong to the
MC carbide with a lattice constant of a50.440460.0011
nm, which is apparently the same as in the as-received
condition. There are three possible interpretations for the
presence of the carbide with larger lattice constant:
• undissolved MC carbide from the conventionally cast
(as-received) specimen;
296 F. Zupanicˇ et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 329 (2001) 290 – 297

• the primary MC particles might contain less Cr than the Table 3

Experimentally determined partition coefficients of solute elements in
eutectic MC carbide;
continuously cast IN 713C
• there occurred demixing of the metallic sublattice of the
MC carbide during cooling. Cr Ti Al Mo Nb Fe Ni
Partition coefficient 0.96 0.55 0.99 0.82 0.46 1.02 1.03

The first possibility is in our opinion the most likely, but

it has to be confirmed in our future work.
3.3. Segregation of solute elements in the continuously
cast IN 713 C
Fig. 5 clearly shows the non-uniform distribution of
solute elements in the g-phase, which caused a dark grey
colour of the dendrite cores and a bright grey colour of the
interdendritic spaces (in this work we use the term
‘interdendritic space’ for the region between dendritic
arms, which is without MC / g eutectic). Table 2 shows that
the interdendritic space was enriched in Ti, Mo and Nb.
The amplitude of segregation was much larger than in the
DTA sample, where obviously considerable back-diffusion
took place. The segregation amplitude also varied with the
solute element i concerned, depending on the corre-
sponding value of the partition coefficient k i . The partition
coefficients of Al, Ti, Ni, Cr, Mo, Nb and Fe are given in
Table 3. They were determined by applying the following
procedure. First, we determined the average composition
by analysing a large region (i.e. at a small magnification,
usually 1003). In the same region, we analysed several
dendrite cores, and calculated the average concentration of
each element. The partition coefficient of an element i was
then defined as:
C di
k i 5 ]a
Ci
where C ai and C di mean the average concentrations of an
element i in the large area and dendrite cores, respectively.
This procedure relies on the following assumptions:
• There was a local thermodynamic equilibrium on the
solid / liquid interface at the beginning of solidification.
That means that the concentration of an element i in the
first g phase formed corresponded to k i Ci 0 (Ci 0 is the
nominal content of the element i in the alloy, which is
in our case approximated by Ci a).
• The degree of back-diffusion was negligible.
• The composition of the dendrite core was determined at
or at least very close to the centre of the dendrite core.
The first assumption is definitely a good assumption for
casting conditions, which prevail at continuous casting.
Also backdiffusion of the substitutional solute elements
should be negligible at these casting conditions [9]. The
third condition could be fulfilled with careful experimental
work. In addition, the solidification profile at dendrite core
is very flat [10], so even if EDS analyses had not been
carried out exactly at the dendrite centres, there should not
be much difference in determined k i .
The partition coefficients for Ni, Fe, Cr, Nb determined
in this work are similar to those determined in Nb-bearing
Ni-based superalloys [9], which did not contain Mo, Al
and Ti (k Nb 50.45, k Fe 51.00, k Ni 51.01, k Cr 51.08). The
main difference is in k Cr , which was in our work slightly
smaller than one. In other alloys [10], the values of k Cr lie
between 0.9 and 1.08, indicating a slight influence of
solute elements on Cr partition. Also, the partition coeffi-
cient of Al can be either larger or smaller than one
(0.81–1.2 [10]). The partition coefficients of Mo in alloys
IN 738 LC and ATS 381-G are 0.85 and 0.9, respectively
[11]. Ti always shows strong segregation tendency (0.49,
k Ti ,0.7).
Table 2 gives the average composition at different
locations in Fig. 5. The contents of Ti, Mo, Nb, Fe and Cr
(1)
change from the cores of dendrite trunks toward the
eutectic pools in a way expected on the basis of their
partition coefficients. On the other hand, somewhat
anomalous behaviour of aluminium was observed. It
attained the smallest concentration in the MC / g eutectic
pools, which was even lower than the average Al content
in the alloy but was the highest at the border between the
dendrite core and interdendritic region. This could be
explained in the following way. The Al profile across the
dendrite was almost flat before the occurrence of the
MC / g eutectic reaction, because kAl |1. During the cou-
pled MC / g eutectic growth, Al was rejected into the
remaining liquid, and its content became higher than its

Table 2
Chemical composition at different locations indicated in Fig. 5
Location Cr Ti Al Mo Nb Fe Ni
Dendrite core 12.9 0.6 5.5 3.8 0.83 1.75 74.4
Border between dendrite core 13.5 0.84 6.6 4.3 1.4 1.5 71.7
and interdendritic space
Interdendritic space 14.25 0.85 5.4 5.1 1.7 1.3 71.2
Eutectic pools 12.7 1.7 5.2 8 7.3 1.3 63.9
 F. Zupanicˇ et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 329 (2001) 290 – 297
nominal composition, i.e. higher than its content in the g
phase. As a result a transfer of Al across the g/ liquid
interface occurred, thus enriching the dendrite rim, which
was in contact with the remaining melt.
4. Conclusions
In this work, we investigated the structure of continu-
ously cast rods ([ 10 mm) of the Ni-based superalloy IN
713C using different microstructure characterization tech-
niques. On the basis of the results the following conclu-
sions can be drawn:
1. The microstructure of continuously cast rods consisted
of columnar g grains with dendritic morphology, pri-
mary and eutectic MC carbide and coherent g9 precipi-
tates distributed rather uniformly within the g-matrix.
Apart from the DTA and conventionally cast samples, it
did not contain the g/ g9 eutectic and some other minor
phases. Higher cooling rates at continuous casting
caused the formation of much finer microstructural
constituents as in the DTA sample and in the invest-
ment cast parts.
2. The composition of the MC carbide prevailing in the
continuously cast sample was found to be
(Nb 0.41 Mo 0.25 Ti 0.18 Cr 0.16 )C. Therefore it contained
more Cr and Mo, but less Ti and Nb than MC carbide
in the DTA and conventionally cast samples
(Nb 0.5 Mo 0.15 Ti 0.25 )C. This change in composition also
induced a slight decrease in its lattice constant from
0.441 in the conventionally cast sample to 0.4350 nm.
3. Coherent g9 precipitates in continuous cast rods pos-
sessed a cuboidal morphology with a coarse (35–60
nm) and a fine (2–5 nm) population. Their lattice
constant was a50.3590 (60.0002) nm.
4. Ti, Mo and Nb showed strong microsegregation ten-
dency with partition coefficients of 0.55, 0.82 and 0.46,
297
respectively. On the other hand, Al, Cr, Fe and Ni
showed a low microsegregation tendency (kAl 50.99,
k Cr 50.96, k Fe 51.02 and k Ni 51.03).
Acknowledgements
We thank Derek Hendley from Ross & Catherall,
Sheffield, UK for providing the alloy and useful advice
regarding the melting procedure.
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