Very high cycle fatigue rupture mode at high temperatures of Ni-based superalloys coated with a slurry aluminide.

• Failure mode in VHCF conditions (1,000 °C/R ε = -1/f = 20 kHz) of slurry-coated Ni-based SX superalloys. • The competition between surface and internal crack initiation for slurry-coated Ni-based SX superalloys. • The interaction between the casting pore, the interdiffusion zone and the rough zone developed around internal casting pores. The failure mode in the very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) regime of four different nickel-based single-crystal (SX) superalloys coated with a slurry aluminide has been investigated at high temperature (1,000 °C) and under fully-reversed conditions (R ε = -1). The 3rd generation superalloy CMSX-4 Plus presented a lifetime one to two order(s) of magnitude higher than AM1, CMSX-4 and Rene N5 for the same applied alternating stress (180 MPa). The crack initiation zones were distinct. CMSX-4 Plus samples failed from the interdiffusion zone (IDZ) while AM1, CMSX-4 and Rene N5 samples failed from casting pores close to the IDZ. The interaction between the casting pore, the IDZ and the rough zone is believed to control the premature crack initiation. A new crack initiation mode in VHCF for coated specimens is proposed in this article and the competition between crack initiation from a casting pore or from the surface is considered and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]