Abstract
Ratcheting behavior of IN 718 was investigated at $649^{\circ}C$ under various proportional and non-proportional loading conditions with stress control. The material response was initially elastic but substantial plastic strain was developed as the material softened cyclically. Ratcheting strain was measured to near fatigue life, and is found to have three stages of development - primary, secondary (steady-state) and tertiary. The secondary stage dominates for most cases. Under the same equivalent stress amplitude and mean stress, it was revealed that circular path loading gives higher ratcheting rates and shorter lives than linear paths and that the more ratcheting occurs when the cyclic load is in the same direction as the mean stress. The ratcheting strain at failure depends not only on its rate but also on fatigue life itself, and it is not a primary life-determining factor.