Microstructure of Al-2.5Fe Binary Alloy Fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion

2021 ◽  
Vol 1016 ◽  
pp. 1175-1180
Author(s):  
Xing Qi ◽  
Naoki Takata ◽  
Asuka Suzuki ◽  
Makoto Kobashi ◽  
Masaki Kato

In the present study, microstructural and crystallographic features of an Al-Fe binary alloy with a near eutectic composition (Al-2.5wt%Fe) fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process were examined. The LPBF processing for the Al-Fe alloy powder was conducted at room temperature using a 3D Systems ProX 200 operating at a laser power of 204 W and a laser scan speed of 0.6 m/s and 0.8 m/s to fabricate cube samples with high relative density above 99 %. The fabricated sample exhibited characteristic microstructure consisting of a number of melt pools in which the regions had locally melted and rapidly solidified by laser irradiation during the LPBF process. Numerous fine particles of Al-Fe intermetallics with a mean size below 100 nm were found within the α-Al matrix in the observed melt pools, whereas relatively coarsened particles were localized around melt pool boundaries. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analyses revealed a number of columnar a-Al grains with a mean size of approximately 10 μm. The LPBF-fabricated Al-Fe alloy exhibits a high hardness of approximately 90 HV, which is more than twice higher than the conventionally casted Al-Fe alloy.

Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 320
Author(s):  
Wenyuan Wang ◽  
Naoki Takata ◽  
Asuka Suzuki ◽  
Makoto Kobashi ◽  
Masaki Kato

Centimeter-sized samples of hypereutectic Al–15 mass% Fe alloy were manufactured by a laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process while systematically varying laser power (P) and scan speed (v). The effects on relative density and melt pool depth of L-PBF-manufactured samples were investigated. In comparison with other Al alloys, a small laser process window of P = 77–128 W and v = 0.4–0.8 ms−1 was found for manufacturing macroscopically crack-free samples. A higher v and P led to the creation of macroscopic cracks propagating parallel to the powder-bed plane. These cracks preferentially propagated along the melt pool boundaries decorated with brittle θ-Al13Fe4 phase, resulting in low L-PBF processability of Al–15%Fe alloy. The deposited energy density model (using P·v−1/2) would be useful for identifying the optimum L-PBF process conditions towards densification of Al–15%Fe alloy samples, in comparison with the volumetric energy density (using P·v−1), however, the validity of the model was reduced for this alloy in comparison with other alloys with high thermal conductivities. This is likely due to inhomogeneous microstructures having numerous coarsened θ–Al13Fe4 phases localized at melt pool boundaries. These results provide insights into achieving sufficient L-PBF processability for manufacturing dense Al–Fe binary alloy samples.


Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 944
Author(s):  
Martin Otto ◽  
Stefan Pilz ◽  
Annett Gebert ◽  
Uta Kühn ◽  
Julia Hufenbach

In the last decade, additive manufacturing technologies like laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) have emerged strongly. However, the process characteristics involving layer-wise build-up of the part and the occurring high, directional thermal gradient result in significant changes of the microstructure and the related properties compared to traditionally fabricated materials. This study presents the influence of the build direction (BD) on the microstructure and resulting properties of a novel austenitic Fe‑30Mn‑1C‑0.02S alloy processed via LPBF. The fabricated samples display a {011} texture in BD which was detected by electron backscatter diffraction. Furthermore, isolated binding defects could be observed between the layers. Quasi-static tensile and compression tests displayed that the yield, ultimate tensile as well as the compressive yield strength are significantly higher for samples which were built with their longitudinal axis perpendicular to BD compared to their parallel counterparts. This was predominantly ascribed to the less severe effects of the sharp-edged binding defects loaded perpendicular to BD. Additionally, a change of the Young’s modulus in dependence of BD could be demonstrated, which is explained by the respective texture. Potentiodynamic polarization tests conducted in a simulated body fluid revealed only slight differences of the corrosion properties in dependence of the build design.


Author(s):  
Massimiliano Bonesso ◽  
Pietro Rebesan ◽  
Claudio Gennari ◽  
Simone Mancin ◽  
Razvan Dima ◽  
...  

AbstractOne of the major benefits of the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) technology is the possibility of fabrication of complex geometries and features in only one-step of production. In the case of heat exchangers in particular, this is very convenient for the fabrication of conformal cooling channels which can improve the performance of the heat transfer capability. Yet, obtaining dense copper parts printed via LPBF presents two major problems: the high reflectivity of 1 μm (the wavelength of commonly used laser sources) and the high thermal conductivity of copper that limits the maximum local temperature that can be attained. This leads to the formation of porous parts.In this contribution, the influence of the particle size distribution of the powder on the physical and mechanical properties of parts produced via LPBF is studied. Three copper powders lots with different particle size distributions are used in this study. The effect on densification from two laser scan parameters (scan speed and hatching distance) and the influence of contours scans on the lateral surface roughness is reported. Subsequently, samples manufactured with the optimal process parameters are tested for thermal and mechanical properties evaluation.


Author(s):  
J. C. Heigel ◽  
B. M. Lane

This work presents high speed thermographic measurements of the melt pool length during single track laser scans on nickel alloy 625 substrates. Scans are made using a commercial laser powder bed fusion machine while measurements of the radiation from the surface are made using a high speed (1800 frames per second) infrared camera. The melt pool length measurement is based on the detection of the liquidus-solidus transition that is evident in the temperature profile. Seven different combinations of programmed laser power (49 W to 195 W) and scan speed (200 mm/s to 800 mm/s) are investigated and numerous replications using a variety of scan lengths (4 mm to 12 mm) are performed. Results show that the melt pool length reaches steady state within 2 mm of the start of each scan. Melt pool length increases with laser power, but its relationship with scan speed is less obvious because there is no significant difference between cases performed at the highest laser power of 195 W. Although keyholing appears to affect the anticipated trends in melt pool length, further research is required.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 3927
Author(s):  
Eo Ryeong Lee ◽  
Se Eun Shin ◽  
Naoki Takata ◽  
Makoto Kobashi ◽  
Masaki Kato

This study provides a novel approach to fabricating Al/C composites using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) for a wide range of structural applications utilizing Al-matrix composites in additive manufacturing. We investigated the effects of LPBF on the fabrication of aluminum/multiwalled carbon nanotube (Al/MWCNT) composites under 25 different conditions, using varying laser power levels and scan speeds. The microstructures and mechanical properties of the specimens, such as elastic modulus and nanohardness, were analyzed, and trends were identified. We observed favorable sintering behavior under laser conditions with low energy density, which verified the suitability of Al/MWCNT composites for a fabrication process using LPBF. The size and number of pores increased in specimens produced under high energy density conditions, suggesting that they are more influenced by laser power than scan speed. Similarly, the elastic modulus of a specimen was also more affected by laser power than scan speed. In contrast, scan speed had a greater influence on the final nanohardness. Depending on the laser power used, we observed a difference in the crystallographic orientation of the specimens by a laser power during LPBF. When energy density is high, texture development of all samples tended to be more pronounced.


Metals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huixin Liang ◽  
Deqiao Xie ◽  
Yuyi Mao ◽  
Jianping Shi ◽  
Changjiang Wang ◽  
...  

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is useful for manufacturing complex structures; however, factors affecting the forming quality have not been clearly researched. This study aimed to clarify the influence of geometric characteristic size on the forming quality of solid struts. Ti–6Al–4V struts with a square section on the side length (0.4 to 1.4 mm) were fabricated with different scan speeds. Micro-computed tomography was used to detect the struts’ profile error and defect distribution. Scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy were used to characterize the samples’ microstructure. Nanoindentation tests were conducted to evaluate the mechanical properties. The experimental results illustrated that geometric characteristic size influenced the struts’ physical characteristics by affecting the cooling condition. This size effect became obvious when the geometric characteristic size and the scan speed were both relatively small. The solid struts with smaller geometric characteristic size had more obvious size error. When the geometric characteristic size was smaller than 1 mm, the nanohardness and elastic modulus increased with the increase in scan speed, and decreased with the decline of the geometric characteristic size. Therefore, a relatively high scan speed should be selected for LPBF—the manufacturing of a porous structure, whose struts have small geometric characteristic size.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Nandana Menon ◽  
Tanjheel Hasan Mahdi ◽  
Amrita Basak

Abstract Nickel-base superalloys are extensively used in the production of gas turbine hot-section components as they offer exceptional creep strength and superior fatigue resistance at high temperatures. Such improved properties are due to the presence of precipitate-strengthening phases such as Ni3Ti or Ni3Al (gγ phases) in the normally face-centered cubic (FCC) structure of the solidified nickel. Although this second phase is the main reason for the improvements in properties, the presence of such phases also results in increased processing difficulties as these alloys are prone to crack formation. In this work, specimens of IN738LC are fabricated on a Coherent Creator laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing (AM) equipment. Optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) are carried out to characterize the deposit region. Metallurgical continuity is achieved in the entire deposit region and the specimens do not show any warpage. However, the specimens show voids (e.g., pores and cracks) in the deposit region. The results show that the percentage void area decreases along the build height direction. The deposited IN738LC shows polycrystalline grains in the entire deposit region as confirmed by XRD and EBSD. The grain size also shows variations along the build direction. In summary, the results open opportunities for academic researchers and small scale businesses in fabricating high-gγ nickel-base superalloys on a desktop laser powder bed fusion AM equipment


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4305
Author(s):  
Shuzhe Zhang ◽  
Yunpei Lei ◽  
Zhen Chen ◽  
Pei Wei ◽  
Wenjie Liu ◽  
...  

It is of great importance to study the microstructure and textural evolution of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) formed Hastelloy-X alloys, in order to establish a close relationship between the process, microstructure, and properties through the regulation of the Hastelloy-X formation process parameters. In this paper, components of a Hastelloy-X alloy were formed with different laser energy densities (also known as the volume energy density VED). The densification mechanism of Hastelloy-X was studied, and the causes of defects, such as pores and cracks, were analyzed. The influence of different energy densities on grain size, texture, and orientation was investigated using an electron backscatter diffraction technique. The results show that the average grain size, primary dendrite arm spacing, and number of low angle grain boundaries increased with the increase of energy density. At the same time, the VED can strengthen the texture. The textural intensity increases with the increase of energy density. The best mechanical properties were obtained at the VED of 96 J·mm−3.


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