Abstract:
Hot working a nickel-chromium alloy that contains by weight percent, 42 to 65 chromium, 0.002 to 0.1 calcium, 0.002 to 0.1 magnesium, 0 to 2 aluminum, about 0 to 5 cobalt, 0 to 3 copper, 0 to 5 iron, 0 to 5 manganese, 0 to 3 molybdenum, 0 to 3 niobium, 0 to 2 silicon, 0 to 3 tantalum, 0 to 5 titanium, 0 to 5 tungsten, 0 to 5 vanadium, 0 to 1 zinc, 0 to 0.2 carbon 0 to 0.1 silver, 0 to 0.1 cerium, 0 to 0.1 phosphorus, 0 to 0.1 sulfur, less than 0.005 total boron, rare earths and zirconium and balance nickel and incidental impurities, at a temperature of at least 800° C. improves formability for α-phase chromium alloys.

Description:
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/943,293 filed on Oct. 14, 1997 now abandoned. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     1. Field of Invention 
     This invention relates to the field of hot working nickel-chromium alloys. In particular, this invention relates to hot working nickel-base alloys having at least 42 weight percent chromium. 
     2. Background Art 
     Nickel-chromium weld deposits provide excellent resistance to corrosion at high temperatures. For example, INCONEL® filler metal 72, produces a stable-corrosion-resistant weld deposit. (INCONEL is a trademark of the Inco group of companies.) Filler metal 72 nominally contains, by weight percent, 55 nickel, 44 chromium, 0.6 titanium, 0.2 copper, 0.2 iron, 0.1 manganese, 0.1 silicon, 0.05 carbon and 0.008 sulfur. This composition provides a weld deposit for joining alloy 671 and a feed wire for spray-coating corrosion resistant surfaces. The deposited metal is resistant to high temperature corrosion, including fuel-ash corrosion in atmospheres containing sulfur and vanadium. 
     These nickel-chromium filler metals, having above 42 weight percent chromium, typically have high levels of α-phase chromium. These high levels of α-phase chromium lower the high temperature ductility of the nickel-base alloys. Rolling these low-ductility alloys into wire fractures or slivers the alloy longitudinally. Therefore, these alloys often require shaving to eliminate the slivered surface prior to any drawing procedure. Unfortunately, the shaving operation adds to the cost of the wire and reduces yield. 
     These high-chromium alloys typically rely upon the addition of magnesium for increasing high temperature workability. The magnesium &#34;cleans&#34; the metal by changing the morphology of sulphide stringers into less-harmful spherical sulfides. This improved morphology however, still suffers from the hot-slivering problem. 
     It is an object of this invention to provide an alloy having sufficient hot workability for hot rolling bar into wire without &#34;slivering&#34;. 
     It is a further object of the invention to increase the temperature range for hot working high-chromium-nickel-base alloys. 
     It is further object of the invention to increase the hot ductility of high-chromium-nickel-base alloys without significantly decreasing the hot strength of the alloys. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The ductile nickel-chromium alloy contains by weight percent, 42 to 65 chromium, 0.002 to 0.1 calcium, 0.002 to 0.1 magnesium, 0 to 2 aluminum, about 0 to 5 cobalt, 0 to 3 copper, 0 to 5 iron, 0 to 5 manganese, 0 to 3 molybdenum, 0 to 3 niobium, 0 to 2 silicon, 0 to 3 tantalum, 0 to 5 titanium, 0 to 5 tungsten, 0 to 5 vanadium, 0 to 1 zinc, 0 to 0.2 carbon 0 to 0.1 silver, 0 to 0.1 cerium, 0 to 0.1 phosphorus, 0 to 0.1 sulfur, less than 0.005 total of boron, rare earths and zirconium and balance nickel and incidental impurities. Hot working objects of this alloy, such as bar stock, at temperatures above 800° C. eliminates the surface cracking often associated with fabricating similar α-phase chromium alloys. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 illustrates the ductility increase arising from using calcium and magnesium in &#34;as-hot-rolled&#34; nickel-base alloys containing α-phase chromium. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates the ductility increase arising from using calcium and magnesium in annealed nickel-base alloys containing α-phase chromium 
     FIG. 3 illustrates the minimal tensile strength impact of using a combination of alkaline earth metals in &#34;as-hot-rolled&#34; nickel-base alloys containing α-phase chromium. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates the minimal tensile strength impact of using a combination of alkaline earth metals in annealed nickel-base alloys containing α-phase chromium. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates the ductility increase achieved from control of boron and zirconium concentrations. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The invention uses a combination of two alkaline earth metals to increase hot workability. Furthermore, maintaining a low total concentrations of boron, rare earths and zirconium enhances the hot workability range of the alloy. Specifically, a small but effective amount of calcium and magnesium increase hot workability without decreasing tensile strength. This combination of alkaline earth metals unexpectedly improves hot workability or hot working of the alloy. For purposes of this specification, hot working is defined as deforming an alloy above its recrystallization temperature. Specifically calcium and magnesium act to reduce or eliminate the slivering of the alloy during hot rolling to wire. Furthermore, maintaining low concentrations of boron, rare earths and zirconium reduces detrimental grain boundary precipitates to ensure an excellent hot workability range for the high-chromium alloy. For purposes of this specification, rare earth metals consist of the elements with atomic numbers 57 to 71 and yttrium. 
     Hot rolling six lab heats (heats 1 to 5 and A) into 0.665&#34; inch (1.67 cm) diameter rounds provided the test samples. Similarly, one commercial-scale heat (heat B), produced by deoxidizing with calcium and magnesium, tested actual mill conditions by hot rolling to 6.4 mm (0.250 in.) wire. Heats 1 to 5 correspond to comparative heats having improved hot workability. Heats A and B correspond to examples that illustrate enhanced workability sufficient for the most demanding hot rolling conditions, such as hot rolling wire. Table 1 below provides the chemistries of the heats tested. 
     
                                           TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________   HEAT NO.ELEMENT 1   2   3   4   5   A   B__________________________________________________________________________Ag      0.0001       0.0001           0.0001               0.0001                   N/A N/A &lt;0.001Al      0.20       0.12           0.13               0.15                   0.132                       0.121                           0.11B       0.0065       0.0062           0.0064               0.0068                   0.008                       0.0001                           0.0023C       0.027       0.024           0.023               0.024                   0.029                       0.022                           0.011Ca      0.0170       0.0002           0.0034               0.0380                   0.002                       0.003                           0.0045Ce      0.0001       0.0001           0.0001               0.0010                   0.0000                       0.0000                           0.0000Co      0.0001       0.0060           0.0001               0.0001                   0.208                       0.204                           0.024Cr      45.16       45.20           45.20               45.13                   45.10                       44.95                           43.03Cu      0.0680       0.0001           0.0001               0.0030                   0.001                       0.073                           0.01Fe      0.12       0.13           0.14               0.16                   0.484                       0.478                           0.22Mg      0.0011       0.0120           0.0130               0.0130                   0.007                       0.009                           0.0072Mn      0.002       0.003           0.002               0.002                   0.002                       0.003                           0.0084Mo      0.0030       0.0040           0.0030               0.0020                   0.19                       0.19                           0.012Nb      0.0140       0.0149           0.0140               0.0140                   0.014                       0.015                           0.023Ni      53.52       53.70           53.76               53.33                   53.09                       53.27                           55.89P       0.0022       0.0022           0.0022               0.0020                   0.002                       0.002                           0.0016S       0.0025       0.0042           0.0022               0.0028                   0.0024                       0.0025                           0.0019Si      0.220       0.058           0.083               0.230                   0.104                       0.075                           0.04Ta      0.0030       0.0030           0.0030               0.0030                   0.002                       0.002                           0.0016Ti      0.57       0.58           0.59               0.58                   0.547                       0.55                           0.552V       0.016       0.016           0.016               0.017                   0.014                       0.015                           0.011W       0.010       0.011           0.010               0.011                   0.01                       0.011                           0.0060Y       0.001       0.001           0.001               0.000                   NT  NT  NTZn      0.0003       0.0003           0.0003               0.0001                   0.0007                       0.0007                           NTZr      0.0037       0.0003           0.0015               0.0001                   0.0124                       0.0017                           0.0002Total Rare Earths   0.0002       0.0002           0.0002               0.0020                   0.0000                       0.0000                           0.0000__________________________________________________________________________ Note: NT means not tested. 
    
     Table 2 below provides the reduction in area data for Gleeble testing of &#34;as hot-rolled&#34; alloys at temperatures between 1700 and 2300° F. (927 and 1260° C.). 
     
                       TABLE 2______________________________________   REDUCTION IN AREA (%)   HEAT NO.TEMPERATURE     1         2         3       4(° F.) (° C.)         (Ca only) (Mg only)                           (Ca + Mg)                                   (Ca + Mg)______________________________________1700   927    75        59      89      871800   982    89        79      94      981900  1038    96        86      96      982000  1093    95        86      97      972100  1149    94        79      97      952200  1204    95        74      93      942250  1232    86         0       2      802300  1260     1        --      --       02350  1288    --        --      --      --______________________________________ Note: The &#34;ashot-rolled&#34; designation means testing the alloy after heatin it to temperature. 
    
     FIG. 1 illustrates the unexpected beneficial effect of adding calcium and magnesium in combination to nickel-base alloys having relatively large amounts of α-phase chromium. This combination of alkaline metals produces a dramatic increase in ductility at temperatures between 1700 and 1800° F. (927 and 982° C.). This increase in ductility greatly extends the useful high temperature range for fabricating wires from high α-chromium alloys. 
     Table 3 below provides the reduction in area data testing of alloy &#34;as hot-rolled and annealed&#34;--test temperature between 1700° F. and 2100° F. (927 and 1149° C.) and an annealing temperature of 2200° F. (1204° C.). 
     
                       TABLE 3______________________________________   REDUCTION IN AREA (%)   HEAT NO.TEMPERATURE     1         2         3       4(° F.) (° C.)         (Ca only) (Mg only)                           (Ca + Mg)                                   (Ca + Mg)______________________________________1700   927    59        42      65      811800   982    66        42      74      781900  1038    72        54      81      832000  1093    81        79      88      902100  1149    88        76      97      92______________________________________ Note: The &#34;as hotrolled and annealed&#34; designation means testing the alloy after cooling it from 2200° F. (1204° C.). 
    
     FIG. 2, based upon the data of Table 3, shows that a combination of calcium and magnesium increases hot workability of the alloy in the annealed condition. The annealing process coarsens the grains of the alloy and can precipitate detrimental phases at the grain boundaries--this simulates the grain precipitates that form during processing ingots into bar stock. The combination of calcium and magnesium improved ductility under these more difficult working conditions. 
     Table 4 below illustrates that the combination of alkaline metals produced no significant drop in tensile strength for the as-hot-rolled alloy. 
     
                                           TABLE 4__________________________________________________________________________   TENSILE STRENGTH   Heat Number   1        2        3        4Temperature   (Ca only)            (Mg only)                     (Ca + Mg)                              (Ca + Mg)(° F.)    (° C.)   (Ksi)       (MPa)            (Ksi)                (MPa)                     (Ksi)                         (MPa)                              (Ksi)                                  (MPa)__________________________________________________________________________1700927   63  434  68  469  64  441  70  4831800982   51  352  45  310  51  352  49  3381900    1038   37  255  41  283  41  283  43  2972000    1093   32  221  30  207  32  221  38  2622100    1149   29  200  25  172  23  158  28  1932200    1204   20  138  20  138  18  124  22  1522250    1232   19  131   1   7   16  110  17  1172300    1260    1   7   --  --   --  --    7   48__________________________________________________________________________ 
    
     FIG. 3 converts the data of Table 4 into a graph to illustrate the minimal impact in tensile strength arising from the combination of materials in the &#34;as-hot-rolled&#34; condition. The calcium and magnesium combine to increase hot ductility without any detrimental drop in physical properties. 
     Table 5 below illustrates that the combination of calcium and magnesium have minimal impact upon tensile strength of alloys of the invention in the as-hot-rolled and annealed condition. 
     
                                           TABLE 5__________________________________________________________________________   TENSILE STRENGTH   Heat Number   1        2        3        4Temperature   (Ca only)            (Mg only)                     (Ca + Mg)                              (Ca + Mg)(° F.)    (° C.)   (Ksi)       (MPa)            (Ksi)                (MPa)                     (Ksi)                         (MPa)                              (Ksi)                                  (MPa)__________________________________________________________________________1700927   55  379  55  379  56  386  55  3791800982   48  331  49  338  46  317  48  3311900    1038   42  290  40  276  39  269  42  2902000    1093   35  241  29  200  33  228  30  2072100    1149   27  186  27  186  23  158  27  186__________________________________________________________________________ 
    
     FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate that the calcium and magnesium of the invention do not promote the formation of detrimental precipitates. 
     Table 6 below demonstrates the enhanced hot workability achieved by limiting the boron, rare earths and zirconium concentrations. 
     
                       TABLE 6______________________________________    REDUCTION IN AREA (%)    AS-HOT-ROLLED                 ANNEALEDTEMPERATURE      5         A        5      A(° F.)  (° C.)          0.0204*   0.0025*                           0.0204*                                  0.0025*______________________________________1700    927    55        96     44     781800    982    71        98     52     791900   1038    90        99     79     872000   1093    97        98     89     882100   1149    96        97     95     942200   1204    96        97     96     972250   1232    73        --     --     --2300   1260    0.1       96     --     --2350   1288    --        51     --     --______________________________________ *B + Rare Earths + Zr 
    
     Referring to FIG. 5, limiting the boron, rare earths and zirconium concentrations greatly increases ductility at temperatures of 950° C. This appears to increase ductility by limiting grain boundary precipitation. Limiting the grain boundary precipitates is most effective for increasing ductility of the annealed alloy. Furthermore, limiting boron, rare earths and zirconium to impurity levels appears to have little or no adverse affect on tensile properties. 
     Hot working the alloy at a temperature of at least 800° C. allows significant deformation of the alloy without cracking. Furthermore, hot working at a temperature of at least 900° C. allows greater alloy deformation without cracking. Most advantageously, hot rolling wire at a temperature of at least 1000° C. prevents the surface slivering often associated with α-phase chromium alloys. 
     In practice, working the commercial-scale alloy 72 ingot down to wire presented no significant ductility problems. In fact, hot rolling 0.25 in. (0.64 mm) wire had much improved surface quality over traditional product. Five of six coils of wire hot rolled to size with no slivers--the wire of one coil had very light slivers. Excessive exposure to an annealing temperature of 2225° F. (1218° C.) caused the light slivering. The joint addition of calcium and magnesium increased the commercial yield of filler metal 72 at least 50 percent. 
     Table 7 below discloses the ranges of the new alloy in weight percent. Advantageously, the alloys have &#34;about&#34; the range of Table 6, along with incidental impurities. 
     
                       TABLE 7______________________________________ELEMENT  BROAD      INTERMEDIATE  NARROW______________________________________Cr       42-65      42-55         42-52Ca       0.002-0.1  0.002-0.05    0.003-0.03Mg       0.002-0.1  0.002-0.05    0.003-0.03Ni       Balance    Balance       BalanceAl       0-2          0-1.5       0-1Ag         0-0.1      0-0.07        0-0.05B        *          &lt;0.0008**     &lt;0.0005***C          0-0.2      0-0.15        0-0.1Ce         0-0.1      0-0.07        0-0.05Co       0-5        0-3           0-1Cu       0-3        0-2           0-1Fe       0-5        0-3           0-1La       *          **            ***Mn       9-5        0-3           0-1Mo       0-3        0-2           0-1Nb       0-3        0-2           0-1P          0-0.1      0-0.07        0-0.05S          0-0.1      0-0.07        0-0.05Si       0-2          0-1.5       0-1Ta       0-3        0-2           0-1Ti       0-5        0-3           0-1V        0-5        0-3           0-1W        0-5        0-3           0-1Zn       0-1          0-0.7         0-0.5Zr       *          **            ***Rare Earths    *          **            ***______________________________________ *Total B + Rare Earths + Zr is less than 0.005 **Total B + Rare Earths + Zr is less than 0.004 ***Total B + Rare Earths + Zr is less than 0.003 
    
     The alloy has sufficient hot workability for hot rolling nickel-base alloy with greater than 42 weight percent chromium into wire without slivering. The combination of calcium and magnesium also improves the hot working range for these high-chromium alloys, such as filler metal 72. Furthermore, the alloy increases hot workability without any detrimental decrease in mechanical properties, such as tensile strength. The improved hot workability improves hot rolling, extruding and weldability of the alloy. Finally, the addition of calcium and magnesium in combination with impurity levels of boron and zirconium increases commercial yield of hot rolled wire greater than fifty percent. 
     While in accordance with the provisions of the statute, this specification illustrates and describes specific embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art will understand that the claims cover changes in the form of the invention and that certain features of the invention provide advantages without the use of other features.