Cast polycrystalline superalloys are widely used for critical components in aerospace and automotive industries, such as turbine blades or turbocharges. Therefore, their fatigue endurance belongs to one of the most essential mechanical characteristics. Full-scale testing of such components involves great technical difficulties and requires significant experimental effort. The present study evaluates the effects of microstructural parameters with respect to representative fatigue testing of a cast turbine blade by separately cast specimens. For that purpose, the cast polycrystalline MAR-M 247 Ni-based superalloy was investigated in the following conditions: (i) specimens extracted from a real gas turbine blade; specimens separately cast into the mould with (ii) top or (iii) bottom filling systems. Obtained diverse microstructures allowed us to assess the effect of grain size, porosity, and texture on fatigue performance. The tests were held at a symmetrical loading regime at temperature 800 °C in laboratory air. The results indicate that the level of porosity is a dominant structural parameter determining the fatigue endurance, while grain size and texture effects were of minor importance contributing mainly to fatigue life scatter.
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