Integrated experimental and simulation approach to establish the effect of elemental segregation in Inconel 718 welds

Inconel 718 as-welded structures are widely used in many critical applications. Welding will cause different types of detrimental phase formation and segregation of elements in the inter-dendritic region. The segregation of elements depends on the local curvatures during morphological evolution dictated by the thermal conditions prevailing during the process. In this study, we establish the segregation behavior of Inconel 718 as a function of solidification conditions. Microstructure evolution was correlated with Scheil's solidification predictions for different cooling rates and temperature gradients. The solidification pathway of segregated composition depends on the process parameters via the microstructure. Simulation results are validated with the experimental results, and the microstructure comparison shows good agreement. An integrated workflow is proposed to accelerate the welding process optimization and produce desired microstructure for multi-component alloys.