Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-021-01190-4

RESEARCH PAPER

Fatigue behavior and microstructural evaluation of Inconel 718 gas

tungsten arc welds
N. K. Rodríguez1 · R. Cortés1 · R. R. Ambriz1 · D. Jaramillo1

Received: 28 October 2020 / Accepted: 15 September 2021 / Published online: 23 September 2021
© International Institute of Welding 2021

Abstract
Microstructural and fatigue behavior of Inconel 718 weldments performed using gas tungsten arc welding process (GTAW)
were studied. Ti and Nb segregation tends to form brittle phases (Laves, NbC and TiC), which were identified in the inter-
dendritic region of the weld metal (WM). The heat generated to weld Inconel 718 produced a microstructural transforma-
tion of the γ´´ ­(Ni3Nb), decreasing the microhardness in comparison to the base metal (BM). The welded joints were heat
treated by a solubilization and aging treatment. Fatigue life behavior of the welded joints was measured. Curves of stress
amplitude versus number of cycles to failure were obtained for the welded joints. Nevertheless, considering the difference
in tensile properties of the welded joints and BM, similar fatigue life resistance was found. The fatigue crack initiation was
located close to the WM, coinciding with softer zone as identified by microhardness. Fatigue crack growth rate da/dN as a
function of stress intensity factor range ΔK was determined. The slower da/dN as a function of ΔK corresponds to the WM
in the as-welded condition, followed by the HAZ, WM after the heat treatment, and finally the BM. This phenomenon was
analyzed in terms of the crack closure effect induced by the plasticity zone ahead of the crack tip.

Keywords Inconel 718 · Microstructural evaluation · Fatigue behavior · GTAW​· Heat treatment

1 Introduction precipitates in the γ matrix after appropriate heat treatment;

Nickel base alloys are one of the most used materials in aer-
ospace, petrochemical, and nuclear industries. These alloys
are used in a wide range of environments and applications
due to their combination of good corrosion strength, high
mechanical resistance, ductility, and toughness at high and
low temperatures [1].
Inconel 718 is a precipitation strengthened Ni-based
alloy, which is widely used to manufacture discs and blades
in turbine engines. This material exhibits high corrosion and
fatigue resistance at high temperature up to approximately
700 °C [2]. Due to its high contents of Ni and Cr, along
with the presence of Nb, Mo, and Ti, the γ″ ­(Ni3Nb) phase
Recommended for publication by Commission XIII—Fatigue of
Welded Components and Structures
* R. R. Ambriz
rrambriz@ipn.mx
1
Instituto Politécnico Nacional CIITEC-IPN, Cerrada
de Cecati S/N Col. Sta. Catarina, Azcapotzalco,
Ciudad de México C.P. 02250, México
therefore, the tensile mechanical properties of the alloy are
improved. Some MC type carbides also precipitate but they
are considered detrimental [3, 4].
After a long thermal and fatigue exposure, the compo-
nents made of Inconel 718 tend to deteriorate and need to
be repaired by welding. Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW)
is a common process used to repair the nickel base alloy
components [5]. GTAW uses a non-consumable tungsten
electrode in conjunction with a shielding gas to establish
the arc between the electrode and the workpiece. Argon or
a mixture of inert gases flow through a nozzle to protect the
fusion zone from the atmosphere oxidation [6, 7]. GTAW
typically produces high-quality welding deposits; how-
ever, the microstructural transformation generated by the
weld thermal cycle tends to detriment the tensile mechani-
cal behavior of Inconel 718 welded joints. The dendritic
microstructure generated by the competitive epitaxial growth
in the fusion zone (FZ) during the solidification tends to
produce Nb and Ti segregation, which promotes the for-
mation of NbC carbides and Laves phase [6, 8, 9]. On the
other hand, for the heat affected zone (HAZ), the liquation
phenomenon and the MC carbides precipitation (M could

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Vol.:(0123456789)
146
be Mo, Ti or Nb) due to the temperatures reached could
affect the mechanical properties [10, 11]. To decrease or to
eliminate the fusion zone segregation as well as to refine the
carbides in the HAZ, a precipitation heat treatment (solu-
bilization and aging process) is performed. This procedure
allows to obtain a fine, disperse and coherent precipitates
in the γ matrix, which improve, among others, the fatigue
behavior of the material [12].
The fatigue behavior of Inconel 718 welded joints has
been investigated by some authors [3–5, 8, 13–15]. Cortés
et al. [4] studied the fatigue and crack growth behavior of
Inconel 718–AL6XN dissimilar welds by the GTAW pro-
cess. They found that brittle secondary phases as Laves and
NbC carbides formed in the weld metal (WM) of the welded
joints due to the heat input contributes to the nucleation
and the propagation of the fatigue cracks. It was identified
that fatigue crack growth rate tends to be faster in the WM
than in base material. This aspect was attributed to the crack
tip plasticity as well as the brittle secondary phases, i.e.,
during the fatigue crack growth, those phases tend to frac-
ture or separate from the matrix in the plastic zone ahead of
the crack tip, therefore, the cracks tend to propagate easily
through the affected secondary phases. Sui et al. [9] studied
the Laves phase effect on the high cycle fatigue behavior of
the Inconel 718. These authors reported that Laves phase
modified the high cycle fatigue properties. They reported
that Laves phase has different behavior depending on the
stress amplitude. It was identified that Laves fragmentation
is not reached when the stress level is lower than 650 MPa.
However, Laves phase tends to fracture and separates from
the austenitic γ matrix, leading to the formation of micro-
scopic cracks or micro-voids when the stress amplitude is
higher than 750 MPa.
Radhakrishna et al. [16] studied the Laves phase forma-
tion on Inconel 718 with two different welding process,
EBW (electron beam welding) and GTAW. They found that
Table 1  Chemical composition Material Ni
of the base and filler materials
used (weight percent) [4] Inconel 718 52.7
*ERNiFeCr-2 51.7
*
Filler material. Chemical composition was determined by optical emission spectroscopy
Fig. 1  Double V-groove joint
used to weld the Inconel 718
plates. Dimensions are in mm
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Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158
the amount of segregation in weld metal is a dependency of
the welding travel speed as well as the cooling rates, which
is widely accepted. It was reported that Laves phase forma-
tion within the interdendritic region of the fusion zone is
promoted by the Nb segregation as well as the welding cool-
ing rate. To eliminate the Laves phase in the fusion zone,
they applied a fast welding cooling rate in conjunction with a
post weld heat treatment using a solution temperature above
1000 °C to the welded joints.
Despite of the exhaustive investigation about microstruc-
tural characterization of Inconel 718 welded joints, there are
no works related to the fatigue behavior and crack growth
rate of GTAW joints considering the as-welded and post
weld heat treatment (PWHT) conditions. In this paper, the
high cycle fatigue behavior as well as the crack growth rate
of Inconel 718 weldments is reported.
2 Methodology
2.1 Materials and welding
Annealed Inconel 718 plates (1500 × 300 × 6.35 mm) and
ERNiFeCr-2 wire as a filler material (1.1 mm in diameter)
were used. The chemical composition for both materials is
provided in Table 1.
Plates of 150 × 75 × 6.35 mm were extracted from the
annealed Inconel 718 material. These plates were machined
to obtain a double V-groove joint with an angle of 70°
(Fig. 1). This angle was used to improve fluidness due to
the high nickel content of the alloy [17].
Before welding, the plates were hardened by solubiliza-
tion at 1065 °C for 1 h, air cooling at room temperature
and aging treatment at 720 °C for 8 h followed by furnace
cooling. This precipitation heat treatment (aged treatment)
was performed because it is the typical condition for using
Cr Fe Nb Mo Ti Al C Mn
18.3 19.34 5.02 2.9 1.03 0.58 0.05 0.08
17.7 20.3 5.45 3.1 0.98 0.45 0.05 0.08
Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158 147

Inconel 718 alloy [18]. The hardness and tensile mechanical
properties for Inconel 718 after heat treatment (base metal)
and welded joints are shown in Table 2. Tests were per-
formed according to ASTM E92-17 [19] and ASTM E8M-
21 [20] standards.
A semiautomatic gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) pro-
cess was used to weld the Inconel 718 plates. Argon was
used as a shielding gas at a flow rate of 1.0 ­m3 ­h−1. The
following welding parameters were used: direct current
electrode negative (DCEN), voltage of 21 V, welding torch
speed of 4 mm ­s−1. Considering a weld thermal efficiency
of 70%, these welding parameters provided a heat input of
918.75 J ­mm−1 per welding bead. Three welding beads were
applied to fill the double V groove joint.
2.2 Microstructural characteristics
Samples of 50 × 10 × 6.35 mm were cut from the Inconel 718
plate and prepared by traditional metallographic methods to
observe the microstructure of the material in annealed and
aging conditions. The samples were submerged in Glycer-
egia reagent to reveal the grain structure [21]. To observe the
microstructure for the different zones of the welded joint, the
welding profiles were also metallographically prepared and
immersed in the same chemical solution. Optical and scan-
ning electron microscopes were used to analyze the micro-
structure. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was
used to determine the chemical composition of secondary
phases formed before and after heat treatment in the base
material and welded joints.
2.3 Mechanical properties
Mechanical properties of base material and welded joints
were determined by Vickers microhardness, tensile [3, 4],
and fatigue tests.
Vickers microhardness profiles were performed to ana-
lyze the local changes in hardness across the welded joints.
The indentations were performed by applying a load of
9.81 N for 15 s. For the base material, a total of ten ran-
dom indentation measurements were taken. For welded
joints, microhardness measurements were carried out by
following three virtual lines identified at the bottom, mid-
dle, and top of the welding profile. The distance between
indentations was 500 μm, whereas the length of the pro-
files was approximately 20 mm [19].
Tensile tests were performed on standard sub-size spec-
imens, according to ASTM E8M-21 [20]. The crosshead
travel speed was 1 mm ­min−1. The length increment of the
samples during the testing was measured by means of an
extensometer placed in the gauge length. To determine the
strain hardening exponent n, and the strength coefficient
H, the ASTM E646-16 standard [22] was used.
High cycle fatigue [23] and fatigue crack growth rate
[24] tests were carried out to determine the fatigue behav-
ior of the base material and the welded joints in as welded,
as well as, with a post weld heat treatment (PWHT) condi-
tions. For high cycle fatigue tests, specimens with tangen-
tially blended fillets between the uniform test section and
the ends (Fig. 2a) were used, whereas for the fatigue crack
growth evaluation compact type (CT) specimens were used
(Fig. 2b).
The samples were mechanically grinded and polished
to eliminate superficial defects and stress concentration.
In the case of the welded joint, the welding bead geometry
was previously eliminated and then heat treated as men-
tioned above. After polish, a mean roughness of 0.045 μm
was obtained on the surfaces of the samples. The results
are presented in logarithmic curves of stress amplitude
versus number of cycles to failure. The fracture of the
sample was considered as failure criterion. High cycle
fatigue tests were carried out at room temperature with a
stress ratio of -1 (tension–compression). Specimens were
fatigued, starting from 80% of yield strength with con-
stant amplitude and sinusoidal waveform at 10 Hz. For
the fatigue crack growth rate tests a stress ratio of 0.1 (ten-
sion-tension) was used, following a sinusoidal waveform
cyclic loading at 10 Hz. CT specimens were subjected to
a load of ΔP = 12 kN to induce a pre-crack of a = 1 mm.
After pre-cracking, a load of ΔP = 9 kN was used to propa-
gate the crack (α = a/W = 0.45). The crack was measured
by means of a portable microscope with a graduated scale

Table 2  Hardness and tensile Material HVN σ0 σUTS ε Fracture energy σUTS/σ0
mechanical properties for (MPa) (MPa) (%) (MJ ­m−3)
Inconel 718 base material
and welded joints obtained by Inconel 718 (annealed) 236 537 850 47.5 372.3 1.58
GTAW [3, 4]
Inconel 718 (aged) 408 809 1080 38.5 430.2 1.33
Welded joint (as-welded) 266** 528 804 16.2 106.0 1.52
Welded joint (heat treated after weld) 390* 770 1044 16 115.8 1.35
438**
Heat affected zone 223 450 770 17.0 110.0 1.71

HVN, Hardness Vickers number, σ0, Yield strength, σUTS, Ultimate tensile strength, ε, Elongation percent. *
HVN HAZ, ** HVN WM

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148 Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158

Fig. 2  Geometry of the speci-

mens used for (a) high cycle
fatigue tests, and (b) fatigue
crack growth tests. Dimensions
are in mm

(resolution of 0.01 mm), which was attached to the fatigue
machine. The fatigue crack growth rate da/dN was plotted
versus the stress intensity factor range ΔK.
To obtain information about crack propagation mecha-
nism, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to
analyze the fracture surfaces.
3 Results and discussion
3.1 Microstructure
Figure 3 shows the microstructure of the Inconel 718 alloy
in annealed (Fig. 3a) and aging (Fig. 3b) conditions. The
presence of fine and disperse carbides in austenitic γ matrix
was observed in both conditions.
For annealed material (Fig. 3a), a fine equiaxed grain
structure can be observed. It is possible to identify the
presence of twinning, which are produced by the annealed
heat treatment in FCC materials and promoted by the high
strain energy storage generated during the cold rolling.
This strain energy storage is the driving force to produce
a recrystallized grain structure and the softening of the
material [25].
From Fig. 3b (precipitation heat treatment), it could be
observed an evident grain size increment in comparison
with the annealed material. Also, the presence of twinning
and secondary phases with round-to-blocky morphology is
observed [26]. These carbides are responsible for the hard-
ening of the material. For instance, it is possible to observe
that Inconel 718 hardness (Table 2), increases from 236
(annealed condition) to 408 HVN (aging condition). To evi-
dence the formation of the γ´´ phase ­(Ni3Nb), as well as the
TiC and NbC carbides in the austenitic γ matrix formed by
the precipitation process, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD)
was performed. Figure 4 shows the X-ray diffraction patterns
for Inconel 718 (annealed and aged conditions). According
to the intensities of XRD patterns, the presence of gamma
phase γ, NbC and TiC carbides and γ ´´ phase (­ Ni3Nb) is
evident for the heat treatment condition.

Fig. 3  Microstructure observed

for the Inconel 718 alloy, (a)
annealed at 982° C for 20 min,
water cooling and (b) after heat
treatment [18]

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Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158 149

To determine the chemical composition of the precipitated

phases, EDX punctual analysis was carried out. Figure 5 shows
the SEM micrograph as well as the zones where the EDX
was performed. A summary of the elements found is given
in Table 3. The presence of C, Ni, and Ti allows to confirm
that MC type carbides are presented in the austenitic γ matrix,
which were formed by the heat treatment [1, 27].

3.2 Macro and microstructure of the welded joints

Figure 6 shows the welding profile of the welded joints. From

Fig. 4  X-ray diffraction analysis for Inconel 718, (a) annealed condi-
tion and (b) precipitation heat treatment (solubilization at 1065 °C for
1 h, air cooling and aging treatment at 720 °C for 8 h followed by
furnace cooling)
Fig. 5  Scanning electron micrograph used to determine the EDX
chemical composition of the particles observed in base metal of
Inconel 718
this figure, it is possible to identify the fusion zone, heat
affected zone (HAZ), base metal as well as the three welding
beads used to fill the double V joint preparation. The mac-
rostructure of the fusion zone is shown in Fig. 6b. Colum-
nar grains formed during solidification process are observed.
The solidification direction from the fusion line (interface
between weld metal and HAZ) toward the heat moving source
is observed.
The microstructure characteristics of the fusion zone as
well as the interface between HAZ and weld metal are shown
in Fig. 7. These micrographs correspond to the rectangles
showed in Fig. 6b. In the case of the fusion zone (Fig. 7a), a
competitive columnar dendritic microstructure produced by
the solidification during the welding process was observed.
Partially melted grains with a traditional epitaxial growth
were observed at the fusion line interface (Fig. 7b). It has
been reported that crystals tend to grow on the < 100 > crys-
tallographic directions for BCC and FCC structures [3, 4, 27,
28]. Grain growth with the precipitation of carbides in grain
boundaries due to high temperature of the welding process was
identified at the HAZ.
To obtain details of the weld metal microstructure, SEM
images were taken (Fig. 8). Figure 8a shows interdendritic
regions as well as dendrite cores. From this figure, it is pos-
sible to observe the MC carbides formation as well as the
Laves phase, which is formed due to the Nb segregation at
the end of non-equilibrium solidification process produced by
the welding.
It has been observed that Laves phase tends to form when
the Nb partition coefficient is lower than 1 [1, 5, 16]. The
strongly element partitions from liquid to solid phase during
solidification promotes the Laves phase formation within the
interdendritic regions. The first solid formed is the γ matrix
(dendrites). As the solidification continues, the elements like
Nb are rejected from the interdendritic liquid exceeding the

Table 3  Estimated chemical Phase C Ti Cr Fe Ni Nb Mo Al Si

composition (EDX) of the
particles shown in Fig. 5 1 Matrix 1.40 0.89 17.48 19.43 52.74 4.61 2.81 0.59 0.056
(weight percent)
2 Carbide 5.52 7.95 0.26 0.39 1.37 84.51 - - -
3 Carbide 5.54 6.88 0.39 0.48 1.60 85.11 - - -

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150
Fig. 6  a Welding profile showing the weld metal (WM), heat affected
zone (HAZ) and base metal (BM), b fusion zone viewed at higher
magnification
solubility limit, forming secondary solidification constituents
[5].
Figure 8b and c show the Laves phase, which has an irreg-
ular shape characterized by an intermetallic compound with
A2B type structure, where A could be Fe, Ni, Cr, and B could
be Nb, Mo, or Si, respectively.
EDX punctual microanalysis was used to determine an
approximation of the chemical composition for Laves phase
and MC carbides, which were identified within the weld
metal. Figure 8d shows the area where the punctual EDX
analysis was performed. The chemical composition reported
in Table 4 allows to confirm that interdendritic regions are
Fig. 7  Microstructure of the
Inconel 718 welded joint,
(a) weld metal, (b) interface
between heat affected zone
and weld metal, some partially
melted grains are underlined
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Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158
rich in Nb and Ti, which corresponds with Laves phase. This
aspect has been previously reported by Lippold and Dupont
[1]; they determined a partition coefficient of approximately
0.48 for Nb and 0.69 for Ti. On the other hand, dendrite
cores (γ matrix) tend to have a lower quantity of Nb but a
higher concentration of Ni, Fe and Cr (Table 3) [1, 29, 30]
To eliminate the Laves phase and restore the Nb and
Ti distribution on the γ matrix, a post weld heat treatment
(PWHT) was carried out. The PWHT was performed taking
into account the continuous cooling transformation diagram
for Inconel 718 [1]. The welded joints were solubilized at
1065 °C by 1 h and air cooled (Laves dissolution), subse-
quently a precipitation process (γ '' phase precipitation) was
performed at 720 °C for 8 h and furnace cooling [31, 32, 33].
The microstructure of the welded joints obtained after
the PWHT is shown in Fig. 9. The interface between weld
metal and base metal is revealed in Figs. 9a and b, whereas
the weld metal microstructure is shown in Figs. 9c and d.
The analysis of the weld metal reveals equiaxed grains
formed during the PWHT as well as the distribution of
particles within the γ matrix. This is also observed for the
HAZ. According to the shape and distribution determined
by scanning electron images (Fig. 10), as well as the EDX
punctual analysis (Fig. 11), these particles can be character-
ized as MC type carbides. Additionally, it was possible to
determine that the PWHT tends to eliminate the Laves phase
from the weld metal. Despite the solubilization stage of the
PWHT, during the aging process at a temperature of 720 °C,
elements like Nb and Ti that were segregated during the
solidification process within the weld metal form MC type
carbides with round-to-blocky morphology [29].
3.3 Microhardness profiles
Figure 12 shows the microhardness profiles of the Inconel
718 GTAW joints. Due to the heat input effect produced by
the welding process, different hardness zones were formed.
A remarkable difference on microhardness values
between weld metal and heat affected zone with respect to
base metal is observed in the as welded condition (Fig. 12a).
Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158 151

Fig. 8  Scanning electron

microscopy images of the weld
metal, (a) columnar structure
showing the Laves phase, (b–c)
higher magnification of the
Laves phase, and (d) image used
to determine the EDX chemical
composition of Laves phase

Table 4   Estimated weight (%) Phase C Ti Cr Fe Ni Nb Mo

element contents
1 Laves 3.24 0.95 11.57 13.2 41.15 30.00 -
2 Laves 3.11 1.20 12.12 13.40 41.90 28.4 -
3 Laves 6.01 3.0 12.31 13.32 36.28 29.3 -

The hardness decrement in the weld metal is attributed to the
Nb segregation, which is generated during the solidification
process producing the Laves phase as well as NbC carbides.
This process decreases the quantity of Nb available to form
the coherent γ´´ ­(Ni3Nb) phase. However, due to the average
size of the γ´´ phase (lower than 100 nm) it would be neces-
sary to use transmission electron microscopy to resolve it.
The hardness reduction due to the Laves phase formation
can be explained by the weld metal solidification stages,
i.e. initially a portion of the liquid phase transforms to γ fol-
lowed by NbC carbides formation, and finally, at the end of
solidification, the Laves phase is formed [1, 31, 34].
On the other hand, the microstructural transformation due
to the partial dissolution of secondary phases (γ´´) close
to the weld metal produces a hardness decrement of about
56% with respect to base metal. This phenomena was also
observed previously [7, 35].
Figure 12b shows the microhardness distribution along
the welded joint of the Inconel 718 alloy after the PWHT.
From this figure, it is possible to observe the microhardness
improvement of the weld metal and HAZ, reaching simi-
lar values than those reported for the base metal [3]. This
hardness recovery is attributed to the Nb and Ti solubiliza-
tion in the γ matrix that improves the coherent ­Ni3Nb phase
(γ´´) formation during the precipitation process [35, 36].
Additionally, the weld metal microhardness increment with
respect to base metal hardness, could be attributed to the
equiaxed grains formed during the PWHT (Fig. 9).
3.4 Fatigue behavior
Standardized samples were subjected to high cycle and
crack growth rate fatigue tests to observe the microstruc-
tural transformation effect induced by the welding process

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152 Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158

Fig. 9  Microstructure after the

post weld heat treatment, (a–b)
interface between weld metal
and base metal, (c–d) weld
metal

Fig. 10  Scanning electron

images showing the MC car-
bides formed within the weld
metal after the post weld heat
treatment

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Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158
Fig. 11  EDX punctual analysis
performed at the MC type
carbides
Fig. 12  Microhardness profiles
obtained for Inconel 718 GTAW
welded joint, (a) as welded
condition, (b) post weld heat
treatment condition
as well as the PWHT. Curves of stress amplitude σa as a
function of number of cycles to failure Nf (Wöhler curves)
were obtained for Inconel 718 base metal and welded joints
(Fig. 13). Fatigue strength coefficient A and fatigue resist-
ance exponent b were obtained by fitting the experimental
results to the Basquin’s equation [37]:
𝜎a = AN bf (1)
Figure 13 shows the fatigue life behavior for Inconel
718 base metal in aged condition (Fig. 13a), as well as
for the welded joints in as welded and PWHT conditions
(Figs. 13b and c). It is possible to observe that experi-
mental data have a well-defined linear behavior when
plotted the log σa versus log Nf. The fitting to Basquin’s
equation reveals that base metal (aged condition) has
the lowest slope when compared with the as-welded and
PWHT conditions, increasing the fatigue strength coeffi-
cient but decreasing the fatigue life. To analyze the fatigue
life behavior of the welded joints (as-welded and PWHT
conditions) in comparison with base metal (Inconel 718),
Wöhler curves were plotted in Fig. 13d. From this figure, it
is possible to observe that microstructural changes induced
153
by the heat welding process as well as the PWHT do not
produce an important change in fatigue life behavior. This
aspect can be supported by the fatigue resistance exponent
b (similar than base metal), failure zone of the welded
joints (outside of the weld metal for both conditions) and
the fracture surfaces. Figure 14 shows that the crack initia-
tion was located outside of the weld metal independently
if the welded joint sample was subjected to fatigue test in
as-welded (Fig. 14a–b) or after the PWHT (Fig. 14c–d).
According to the microhardness profiles (Fig. 12), the
distance at which the crack was nucleated corresponds
to the softer zone located at approximately 10–12 mm
from the center of the weld metal. In the case of the as-
welded condition, the crack initiation zone is related to
the microstructural transformation induced by the welding
process, which promotes heating and cooling conditions
that promote the over-aging of the γ´´ phase as well as the
Laves phase formation. This microstructural transforma-
tion decreases the tensile mechanical properties (Table 2)
but tends to improve the fatigue resistance exponent b in
comparison with the base metal. In contrast, the PWHT
increases the tensile mechanical properties of the welded
samples. However, due to the very limited Nb solid-state
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154 Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158

Fig. 13  Fatigue life behavior

for Inconel 718, (a) base metal
in aged condition, (b) welded
joint in as welded condition, (c)
welded joint after the post weld
heat treatment, and (d) fitting
approximation to the experi-
mental data for base metal
and welded joints. R =  − 1.0
(unnotched specimens). Welded
joints ruptured in the HAZ

Fig. 14  Lateral and upper views

of the fractured welded joints
samples (stress amplitude of
400 MPa), subjected to high
cycle fatigue test, (a–b) as
welded condition, (c–d) post
weld heat treatment condition

diffusion [1, 3, 11], the segregation produced by the weld-
ing process is not totally suppressed. Even when the sub-
sequent heat treatment can help to recover the mechanical
properties up to a certain level, the precipitation of Nb
carbides was present. This secondary phases could crack
and separate from the austenite matrix, leading to the for-
mation of microscopic voids and stress concentrators at
the interface [9, 37].
A scanning electron microscopy analysis was carried
out to identify the microscopic characteristics of the frac-
ture surfaces for base metal and welded joints (Fig. 15).
The three stages that involve the fatigue crack growth can
be appreciated in the fracture surfaces shown in Fig. 15.
Arrows indicate the crack initiation as well as the global
crack growth direction. The stable and final fracture zones
are also identified.
A zone within the stable crack growth zone was selected
(rectangles marked in Fig. 15) to analyze in more detail
the fracture surface (Fig. 16). From Fig. 16, it is possible
to observe micro-cracks, cracked particles, and striation
formation. Since, fatigue life conditions tend to be simi-
lar for all materials (Fig. 13d), only the striation forma-
tion was analyzed. Thus, considering that each striation
corresponds with a fatigue loading cycle, it is possible to
determine an approximation of the crack growth condi-
tions by measuring the striation spacing, i.e., the striation
width is an indicative of the local crack growth rate [38].
In Fig. 15b, it could be observed that the striation spacing

13
Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158 155

Fig. 15  General view of the

fracture surfaces obtained after
the high cycle fatigue test for
(a) Inconel 718, (b) welded
joint is as-welded condition, and
(c) welded joint after the PWHT

Fig. 16  Detailed view of the fracture surface, (a–b) Inconel 718, (c–d) welded joint is as-welded condition, and (e–f) welded joint after the
PWHT

tends to be slightly higher for Inconel 718 base metal than
welded joints. This result is coincident with the fatigue
life behavior reported in Fig. 13. Hence, it is possible to
determine that it is not necessary to perform a PWHT of
the Inconel 718 GTAW joints, when subjected to high
cycle loading, the fatigue damage tends to be similar than
that for the base metal (Fig. 13d). This result is valid for
the fatigue test conditions used, i.e., the fatigue damage
life behavior depends on the mean stress as well as the
environment conditions. Additionally, it is important to
note that striation orientations are perpendicular to the
local direction of the crack growth; however, due to the

13
156
misorientation of some grains, it is possible to observe
deviations of the striation orientation, as shown in Fig. 16
[38, 39].
3.5 Fatigue crack growth rate
The stable crack growth rate (da/dN) as a function of stress
intensity factor range (ΔK) [24] for each material (base
metal, weld metal and HAZ) was determined. The da/
dN versus ΔK results were plotted in logarithmic graphs
(Fig. 16) and fitted to the Paris equation [40].
It is possible to observe in Fig. 17 that the stable crack
propagation for each material is well defined. However, it
can be observed that Inconel 718 base metal tends to grow
faster than weld metal (as-welded and PWHT) and HAZ,
i.e. the da/dN is higher as a function of ΔK. This aspect can
be explained by the crack tip plastic zone formation. Thus,
considering plane stress conditions, an approximation to the
plastic zone rp (θ) can be determined by applying the fol-
lowing equation [38]:
Fig. 17  Fatigue crack growth
rate da/dN as function of the
stress intensity factor range
ΔK, (a) base metal, (b) welded
metal in as-welded condition,
(c) welded metal after post weld
heat treatment, and (d) heat
affected zone. R = 0.1
13
Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158
1
(
KI
)2 (
3
)
rp (𝜃) = 1 + cos𝜃 + sin2 𝜃 (2)
4𝜋 𝜎0 2
Considering the yield strength σ0 for the materials
(Table 2), and taking an arbitrary value for ΔK = KI = 45 MPa
­m1/2, an approximation to the plastic zone along the crack
axis rp (0°) for the different materials can be determined
(Fig. 18).
From Fig. 18 and Eq. (2), it is possible to observe that
plastic zone along the crack axis increases as the harden-
ing of the materials decreases (yield strength). This means
that, for a similar loading condition, different plasticity-
induced closure effect has been induced. This phenom-
enon can be observed for softer materials (weld metal in
as-welded condition and HAZ). For instance, if we con-
sider a ΔK = 60 MPa ­m1/2, the crack growth rate for the
weld metal in as-welded condition is about 6.4 × ­10−5 mm/
cycle, whereas for the Inconel 718, this value is roughly
one order of magnitude higher (8.7 × ­10−4 mm/cycle). Thus,
the combination of microstructure, mechanical properties,
plasticity induced along the crack axis as well as the loading
conditions to propagate the crack seem to be favorable to
decrease the da/dN for the weld metal in comparison to the
Inconel 718 base material. Similar crack growth rate condi-
tions (~ 2.3 × ­10−4 mm/cycle) were observed for the HAZ
and weld metal in PWHT.
Welding in the World (2022) 66:145–158
Fig. 18  a Plastic zone approximation along the crack axis as a func-
tion of the normalized yield strength for the different materials of the
Inconel 718 welded joint material. σIN718 = yield strength for Inconel
718 material (aging condition), and σ0 = yield strength for the corre-
sponding material. b Plastic zone for the different materials
4 Conclusions
The welding process produces the Nb segregation during the
solidification process, forming the Laves phase as well as
NbC carbides on the weld metal and the partial dissolution
of secondary phases in heat affected zone.
The Laves phase formation decreases the tensile mechani-
cal properties of the Inconel 718 welded joints. The post
weld heat treatment on the welded joints restores the micro-
structure of the weld metal, due to the elimination of the
Laves phase, improving the tensile mechanical properties
and hardness values.
The fatigue life behavior of the welded joint in as-welded
and post weld heat treatment conditions tends to be similar
to the Inconel 718 base metal. The fatigue failure zones were
157
in the softer zones at approximately 10–12 mm from the
center of the weld metal according to the microhardness
profiles.
The fatigue crack growth rate results showed that Inconel
718 base metal tends to be faster than weld metal and heat
affected zone. This phenomenon attributed to the crack tip
plastic zone, due to the plasticity closure effect induced
along the crack axis.
Acknowledgements The authors greatly appreciate the support of
CONACYT-México (Project A1-S-27474) and SIP-IPN to conduct this
research. Nadia K. Rodríguez is thankful to CONACyT for the schol-
arship provide for her doctorate studies. The technical and academic
support given by Centro de Investigación e Innovación Tecnológica of
the IPN is also gratefully acknowledged.
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