Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Inconel 625 Alloy during Pulsed Plasma Arc Deposition Process

Pulsed plasma arc deposition （PPAD）, which combines pulsed plasma cladding with rapid prototyping, is a promising technology for manufacturing near net shape components due to its superiority in cost and convenience of processing. In the present research, PPAD was successfully used to fabricate the Ni-based superalloy Inconel 625 components. The microstructures and mechanical properties of deposits were investigated by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, optical microscopy （OM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM） with energy dispersive spectrometer （EDS）, microhardness and tensile testers. It was found that the as-deposited structure exhibited homogenous columnar dendrite structure, which grew epitaxially along the deposition direction. Moreover, some intermetallic phases such as Laves phase, minor MC （NbC, TiC） carbides and needle-like δ-Ni3Nb were observed in y-Ni matrix. Precipitation mechanism and distribution characteristics of these intermetallic phases in the as-deposited 625 alloy sample were analyzed. In order to evaluate the mechanical properties of the deposits, microhardness was measured at various location （including transverse plane and longitudinal plane）. The results revealed hardness was in the range of 260- 285 HVo.2. In particular, microhardness at the interface region between two adjacent deposited layers was slightly higher than that at other regions due to highly refined structure and the disperse distribution of Laves particles. Finally, the influence of precipitation phases and fabrication strategies on the tensile properties of the as-deposited samples was investigated. The failure modes of the tensile specimens were analyzed with fractography.

Diagnosis of gas phase near the substrate surface in diamond film deposition by high-power DC arc plasma jet CVD

Optical emission spectroscopy （OES） was used to study the gas phase composition near the substrate surface during diamond deposition by high-power DC arc plasma jet chemical vapor deposition （CVD）. C2 radical was determined as the main carbon radical in this plasma atmosphere. The deposition parameters, such as substrate temperature, anode-substrate distance, methane concentration, and gas flow rate, were inspected to find out the influence on the gas phase. A strong dependence of the concentrations and distribution of radicals on substrate temperature was confirmed by the design of experiments （DOE）. An explanation for this dependence could be that radicals near the substrate surface may have additional ionization or dissociation and also have recombination, or are consumed on the substrate surface where chemical reactions occur.

Tandem rapid manufacturing of Inconel-625 using laser assisted and plasma transferred arc depositions

This paper presents an investigation on depo- sition of Inconel-625 using laser rapid manufacturing （LRM） and plasma transferred arc （PTA） deposition in individual and tandem mode. LRM has advantages in terms of dimensional accuracy, improved mechanical properties, finer process control, reduced heat input and lower thermal distortion, while PTA scores more in terms of lower initial investment, lower running cost and higher deposition rate. To quantify the clubbed advantages and limitations of both processes, these were studied individually and in tandem. A number of samples were deposited at different process parameters like power, scan speed, powder feed rate. They were subjected to tensile test, adhesion-cohesion test, impact test and micro hardness measurement. The results of individual tests showed the comparable mechanical prop- erties with i20% variation. The mixed dendritic-cellular and dendritic-columnar microstructures were respectively observed for LRM and PTA deposits with a distinct inter- face for the case of tandem deposition. The interface strength of tandem deposits was evaluated employing adhesion-cohesion test, and it was found to be （325 i 35） MPa. The study confirmed the viability of LRM and PTA deposition in tandem for hybrid manufacturing.