Effects of deep hole drilling processes on the fatigue strength of GTD-111 DS

The paper deals with the effects of electrochemical and electro-discharge deep hole drilling on the high-temperature fatigue behavior of a directionally solidified GTD-111 superalloy. High-temperature HCF tests were carried out at 800 °C on specimens having a coaxial hole drilled with the investigated processes. The hole diameter and length were 1.5 and 95 mm, respectively. The material’s high-temperature HCF S-N curve was also obtained to provide a reference curve. Despite the scatter caused by the material microstructure in the fatigue crack nucleation and propagation regime, the fatigue strength was found to be affected by the investigated hole drilling techniques. The electro-discharge deep hole drilling was found to lower the fatigue strength by 8%. Fractographic analyses showed that it can be attributed to the different hole surface roughness and microstructural alteration in the underlying material.