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ABSTRACT
Custom built in-situ ultrasonic aging equipment was used to investigate the precipitation hardening response in a commercial WE43 alloy at 210°C. Three power levels (100, 300, 400 W) with time intervals of 15, 30, and 60 s between sonication were used to measure the change in hardness. Aging response was 24 times faster, decreasing the time to achieve peak hardness from 48 hrs during conventional aging to 2 hrs under the influence of ultrasonic waves. While higher power increased the peak hardness, shortening the interval time from 30 to 15 s did not have any influence. Transmission electron micrographs revealed well-developed β1 variants in as little as 15 minutes for ultrasonically aged samples, which was the reason for enhanced age hardening response.