Effect of turning and surface polishing treatments on surface integrity and fatigue performance of nickel-based alloy GH4169

In this paper, the effects of turning and surface polishing treatments on surface integrity and fatigue properties of superalloy GH4169 were investigated. Finish turning (FT), surface circumferential polishing treatment (TCP), surface oblique texture (TCPO), and surface axial texture (TCPA) were applied to GH4169 superalloy. The surface roughness, surface topography, residual stress, microhardness, and microstructure after different processes were studied. Rotating bending fatigue tests were carried out to investigate the effects of surface integrity and surface texture direction on the fatigue performance of GH4169. The experiments reveal that the TCPA specimens present the longest fatigue life of 15.01 × 10⁴ cycles. By comparison with the FT, TCP, and TCPO specimens, the fatigue lives of TCPA specimens are increased by 134.2%, 183.7%, and 96.2%, respectively. Single crack initiation source is observed for TCPA specimen. It is mainly attributed to the small surface stress concentration factor and surface axial texture.