Titanium Carbide Effects on the Fracture of Inconel 100—A Case Study

Carbides and borides appear as minor phases in Inconel 100, although the carbon content (0.18%) is relatively high in comparison to other nickel-base superalloys. The material properties of this alloy depend on a number of interrelated microstructural parameters, including the volume fraction of γ' to γ, grain size, elemental distribution, and precipitation of carbides and borides. This study presents a characterization and a failure analysis of Inconel 100 samples loaded to fracture at 760℃ and an examination of their fractography. Chemical analysis, optical metallography, SEM and EDS were used for the characterization of the unusual areas of fracture that were found on the samples. The thermodynamic stability of TiC led to the conclusion that the possibility of creating very large, stable mono carbides, especially TiC carbide, during the production process is the reason for the short time to failure obtained in this work.