Effects of annealing on microstructure and mechanical properties of γ-TiAl alloy fabricated via laser melting deposition

The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the as-deposited γ-TiAl-based alloy specimen fabricated via laser melting deposition and as-annealed specimens at different temperatures were investigated.The results show that the microstructure of as-deposited specimen is composed of fineα2(Ti3Al)+γlamellae.With the increase of annealing temperature,the bulk γ m(TiAl)phase gradually changes from single γ phase toγphase+acicularα2 phase,finally small γ phase+lamellar α2+γ phase.Compared with the mechanical properties of as-depositedγ-TiAl alloy(tensile strength 469 MPa,elongation 1.1%),after annealing at 1260℃ for 30 min followed by furnace cooling(FC),the room-temperature tensile strength of the specimen is 543.4 MPa and the elongation is 3.7%,which are obviously improved.

Effects of WC-Co reinforced Ni-based alloy by laser melting deposition: Wear resistance and corrosion resistance

WC-Co reinforced C276 alloy composite coatings are fabricated on Q235 steel by laser melting deposition.The microstructure,hardness,wear performance,and electrochemical corrosion behavior of composite coating are studied.The results show that WC-Co particles are mostly uniformly distributed in the coating and provide favorable conditions for heterogeneous nucleation.The microstructure of C276/WC-Co composite coatings is composed of γ-Ni solid solution dendrites and MoNi solid solution eutectics.The WC-Co particles can effectively improve the hardness and wear resistance of C276 alloy.The average hardness of the composite coating containing 10-wt% WC-Co(447 HV_(0.2)) are 1.26 times higher than that of the C276 alloy(356 HV_(0.2)).The wear rate of composite coating containing 10-wt% WC-Co(6.95 ×10^(-3) mg/m) is just 3.5% of that of C276 coating(196.23 × 10^(-3) mg/m).However,comparing with Hastelloy C276,the corrosion resistance of C276/WC-Co composite coating decreases.

Simulation and Analysis of Electromagnetic Force in Laser Melting Deposition by Electromagnetic Impact

Magnetic field was introduced in laser melting deposition to reduce the pores in workpieces.Finite 3-D model of the coil-deposition layer-substrate was established.Simulation results show that the electromagnetic force in deposition layer mainly concentrates in the projection area of the coil.Axial electromagnetic force shows repulsion in one cycle.The experimental results indicate that the magnetic field is beneficial for grain refinement,microhardness increasement and decline of quantities and average sizes of pores.

Influence of Electroshocking Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ti-6.5Al-3.5Mo-1.5Zr-0.3Si Thin-Wall Specimen Manufactured by Laser Melting Deposition

In order to improve the properties of titanium alloys manufactured by laser melting deposition(LMD),the electroshocking treatment(EST)was proposed in this work.The effects of EST on microstructure and mechanical properties of LMD Ti-6.5Al-3.5Mo-1.5Zr-0.3Si were investigated.The results showed that the width of the heat affected band decreased and disappeared under the thermal and athermal effects of EST,resulting in the uniform microstructure.In the microstructure,theαlaths became coarser gradually,and the quantity ofα/βinterface was reduced.The reduction of the quantity ofα/βinterface leads to make less resistant to dislocation,resulting in the reduction in hardness and strength.The discontinuous grain boundaryαphase and nucleationαcolony near grain boundary inhibited the crack propagation and improved the ductility.Summary,EST can manipulate the microstructure and improve the mechanical properties of LMD titanium alloys.

Unsteady state precipitation of M_(23)C_(6)carbides during thermal cycling in reduced activation steel manufactured by laser melting deposition

The temperature field distribution and thermal history of Fe-9Cr2WVTa reduced activation steel prepared by laser melting deposition(LMD)have been calculated with Gaussian and Ring laser beams,and the nucleation and growth behaviors of M_(23)C_(6)precipitates in the 1st,7th and 19th layers have been calculated using the modified classical nucleation theory and Svoboda Fischer Fratzl Kozeschnik model.The energy distribution shows W-shape with Ring laser beam while it shows V-shape with Gaussian laser beam,which results in the more uniform M_(23)C_(6)size in the same layer with Ring laser beam.Precipitates in the bottom(i.e.,the 1st layer)have the minimum size and the size increases with the layer number with Gaussian and Ring laser beams.The temperature history,the instantaneous nucleation rate and the size evolution of M_(23)C_(6)have been systematically discussed.The results indicate that the nucleation,growth and re-dissolution of precipitates in reduced activation steel depend on the amount of energy absorbed in the thermal cycle during LMD.The continuous accumulation of energy during the thermal cycle leads to larger M_(23)C_(6)at the top area.The unsteady state precipitation dynamics of M_(23)C_(6)carbides during thermal cycling are consistent with the simulation results.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of hybrid fabricated 1Cr12Ni2WMoVNb steel by laser melting deposition

Laser melting deposition was carried out to deposit a 1Cr12Ni2WMoVNb steel bar on a wrought bar of same material. Room-temperature tensile properties of the hybrid fabricated 1Cr12Ni2WMoVNb steel sample were evaluated, and microstructure, fracture surface morphology, and hardness profile were analyzed by an optical microscope （OM）, a scanning electron microscope （SEM）, and a hardness tester. Results show that the hybrid fabricated 1Cr12Ni2WMoVNb steel sample consists of laser deposited zone, wrought substrate zone, and heat affected zone （HAZ） of the wrought substrate. The laser deposited zone has coarse columnar prior austenite grains and fine well-aligned dendritic structure, while the HAZ of the wrought substrate has equiaxed prior austenite grains which are notably finer than those in the wrought substrate zone. Besides, austenitic transformation mechanism of the HAZ of the wrought substrate is different from that of the laser deposited zone during the reheating period of the laser deposition, which determines the different prior austenite grain morphologies of the two zones. Microhardness values of both the laser deposited zone and the HAZ of the wrought substrate are higher than that of the wrought substrate zone. Tensile properties of the hybrid fabricated 1Cr12Ni2WMoVNb steel sample are comparable to those of the wrought bar, and fracture occurs in the wrought substrate zone during the tensile test.

Microstructure Characteristics and Mechanical Properties of Nb-17Si-23Ti Ternary Alloys Fabricated by In Situ Reaction Laser Melting Deposition

Fabrication of ternary Nb-17Si-23Ti alloys was attempted by in situ reaction laser melting deposition（LMD）with dual powder feeding method from Nb-28 at.% Ti powder mixture and pure Si powder.The microstructures of the as-deposited alloys were examined with scanning electronic microscope,and the phase constituents were analyzed by X-ray energy-dispersive spectrometer and X-ray diffraction.Furthermore,the effect of laser power on microstructure charac-teristics,microhardness and indentation fracture toughness was also investigated.The in situ reaction LMD process resulted in remarkable refinement of the microstructure.The as-deposited samples mainly consisted of Nbss,metastable（NbTi）3Si and Ti-rich Nbss.With the increase in the laser power from 1000 to 2000 W,the Nbss morphology changed from discontinuous dendritic to near equiaxed,but the Ti-rich Nbss phase tended to vanish.Furthermore,with the increase in the laser power,the microhardness of as-deposited samples increased from 822 to 951 HV,while the indentation fracture toughness was improved from 12.3 to 14.1 MPa mt/2.The corresponding mechanism is also discussed.

Effect of thermal cycles on microstructure of reduced activation steel fabricated using laser melting deposition

Reduced activation steel was successfully fabricated by laser melting deposition employing a Gaussian and a ring-shaped laser.The microstructure evolution of the reduced activation steel was investigated using the scanning electron microscope,transmission electron microscope and electron backscatter diffraction.The experimental results showed that the grains close to the substrate were smaller than the grains in the upper layers.Compared to those deposited using a Gaussian laser,the samples deposited using a ring-shaped laser showed a more homogeneous microstructure.Furthermore,a finite element analysis(FEA)model was applied to reveal the thermal history during laser melting deposition.The simulation results were well validated with the experimental results.FEA results indicate that the peak temperature increases and the cooling rate decreases,as the layer gets further from the substrate.Additionally,the temperature and the cooling rate resulting from the Gaussian laser model were higher at the midline of the samples and lower around the edges,whereas those of the ring-shaped laser model were consistent with both at the center and around the edges.

Effect of laser power on porosity and mechanical properties of GH4169 fabricated by laser melting deposition

The porosity and mechanical properties of GH4169(a precipitation strengthened nickel-base superalloy)specimens fabricated using the laser melting deposition technique at different laser powers were investigated.The results showed that the dendritic structure with the Laves phase and carbides embedded in the Ni-γ matrix formed in the as-fabricated GH4169 due to the strong temperature gradient and the high cooling rates.Porosity remarkably decreased first and slightly increased subsequently as the laser power increased from 300 to 800 W.The lowest porosity of the specimens characterized by 3D X-ray tomography is 0.28%.The specimens fabricated at 600 W tensiled along the direction perpendicular to the building direction exhibit the average yield strength of 587 MPa,the ultimate tensile strength of 903 MPa,and the elongation at fracture of 13.6%.Furthermore,the fatigue limit of the 600 W fabricated specimens is 173.7 MPa corresponding to the fatigue ratio of 0.1.And the relationship among the porosity,laser power and mechanical properties is discussed.

Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of laser melting deposited Ti-6.5Al-3.5Mo-1.5Zr-0.3Si titanium alloy

A rectangular plate of Ti-6.5A1-3.5Mo-I.5Zr-0.3Si titanium alloy was fabricated by laser melting deposition （LMD） technology. Macrostructure and microstructure were characterized by optical microscope （OM） and scanning electron microscope （SEM）. Room temperature tensile properties were evaluated. Results indicate that the macro-morphology is dominated by large columnar grains traversing multiple deposited layers. Two kinds of bands, named the wide bands and the narrow bands, are observed. The wide band consists of crab-like a lath and Widmanstatten a colony. The narrow band consists of a lath and transformed ft. The formation mechanism of the two bands was explored. The influence of heat effect caused by subsequent deposition layers on microstructural evolution during deposition process was discussed. The room temperature tensile test demonstrates that the strength of laser deposited Ti-6.5A1-3.5Mo-I.5Zr-0.3Si is comparable to that of wrought bars.

Low cycle fatigue behavior of laser melting deposited TC18 titanium alloy

Low cycle fatigue （LCF） behavior of laser melting deposited （LMD） TC18 titanium alloy was studied at room temperature. Microstructure consisting of fine lamella-like primary α phase and transformed β matrix was obtained by double annealed treatment, and inhomogeneous grain boundaryαphase was detected. Fatigue fracture surfaces and longitudinal sections of LCF specimens were examined by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Results indicate that more than one crack initiation site can be detected on the LCF fracture surface. The fracture morphology of the secondary crack initiation site is different from that of the primary crack initiation site. When the crack grows along the grain boundaryαphase, continuous grain boundaryαphase leads to a straight propagating manner while discontinuous grain boundaryαphase gives rise to flexural propagating mode.

High-cycle fatigue crack initiation and propagation in laser melting deposited TC18 titanium alloy

This article examines fatigue crack nucleation and propagation in laser deposited TC18 titanium alloy. The Widmanstatten structure was obtained by double-annealing treatment,. High-cycle fatigue （HCF） tests were conducted at room temperature with the stress ratio of 0.1 and the notch concentration factor Kt = 1. Fatigue cracks initiated preferentially at micropores, which had great effect on the HCF properties. The effect decreased with the decrease of pore size and the increase of distance from the pore location to the specimen surface. The crack initiation region was characterized by the cleavage facets of a lamella and the tearing of β matrix. The soft a precipitated-free zone formed along grain boundaries accelerated the crack propagation. Subsurface observation indicated that the crack preferred to propagate along the grain boundary α or border of a lamella or vertical to a lamella.

A novel Ti-5.55Al-6.70Zr-1.50V-0.70Mo-3.41Nb-0.21Si alloy designed using cluster-plus-glue-atom model for laser additive manufacturing

A novel Ti-5.55Al-6.70Zr-1.50V-0.70Mo-3.41Nb-0.21Si alloy was designed using the cluster formula approach(cluster-plus-glue-atom model)and prepared by laser melting deposition(LMD).Its composition formula 12[Al-Ti_(12)](AlTi_(2))+5[Al_(0.8)Si_(0.2)-Ti_(12)Zr_(2)](V_(0.8)Mo_(0.2)Nb_(1)Ti)features an enhancedβ-Ti via co-alloying of Zr,V,Mo,Nb and Si.The experimental results show that the cluster formula ofαandβphases in the novel alloy are respectivelyα-[Al-Ti_(11.5)Zr_(0.5)](Al_(1)Ti_(2))andβ-[Al_(0.8)Si_(0.2)-Ti_(13.2)Zr_(0.8)](V_(1)Mo_(0.4)Nb_(1.6)),both containing Zr elements.The fitted composition via the α andβphase cluster formulas has little difference with the actual alloy composition,suggesting that the validity of cluster-plus-glue-atom model in the alloy composition design.After hot isostatic pressing(HIP),both the Ti-6Al-4V and the novel alloy by LMD are characterized by prior-βcolumnar grains,while the typical<100>texture disappears.Compared with Ti-6Al-4V,Ti-5.55Al-6.70Zr-1.50V-0.70Mo-3.41Nb-0.21Si alloy exhibits a combination of higher strength(1,056 MPa)and higher ductility(14%)at room temperature and higher strength(580 MPa)at 550℃ after HIP,and can potentially serves as LMD materials.

Microstructure evolution of laser deposited Ti60A titanium alloy during cyclic thermal exposure

Cyclic thermal exposure tests of infrared heating to 800 ℃ in 120 s followed by compressed air cooling to 150 ℃ in 60 s were performed for the laser deposited Ti60A （Ti5.54Al3.38Sn3.34Zr0.37Mo0.46Si） alloy. The effects of thermal exposure cycles on length ofβphase, area fraction ofαphase and microhardness of alloy were examined by OM, SEM and EDS. The results indicate that thermal exposure cycles have significant effects on length ofβphase, area fraction ofαphase and microhardness of the alloy. The original fine basket-weaveβand 78.5%αtransform to transient wedge-likeβ, finally leaving granularβand 97.6%coarsenedαwith the increased thermal exposure cycles. The formation mechanism of coarsenedαand broken-upβmicrostructure is discussed. The alloy after 750 thermal exposure cycles has the maximum microhardness, 33.3%higher than that of the as-deposited alloy.

Tribological and Corrosion Properties of the CoCrAlYTaSiC-xCNTs Coatings Deposited by Laser Cladding

The MCrAlY coating has been potential candidate for the parts applied in friction and corrosion conditions, and CNTs (carbon nanotubes) are expected to improve the service performance of coatings owing to high lubrication and low chemical reactivity. In this work, a systematic investigation on the tribological and corrosion properties of CoCrAlYTaSiC-xCNTs coatings deposited by laser melting was analyzed. Results showed that the coatings had good-quality without typical metallurgical defects. The CNTs addition homogenized and refined the microstructure of coating, and also improved the tribological and corrosion properties. As the CNTs content changed from 0 to 4 wt%, the wear rate of coating decreased from 16.23 × 10^(-3) to 7.58 × 10^(-3) mg m^(−1), the jcorr of coating decreased from 4.13 × 10^(-4) to 1.23 × 10^(-4) A cm^(−2), and the Rct values increased from 12.69 to 25.07 Ω cm2.

Effect of Hot Isostatic Pressing on Fatigue Properties of Laser Melting Deposited AerMet100 Steel

The ultra-high strength steel AerMetl00 was fabricated .by laser melting deposition （LMD） process. The effect of hot isostatic pressing （HIP） on high-cycle fatigue properties of the LMD AerMet100 steel was investigated, and the influence of defects on fatigue behavior was discussed. Results showed that the LMD AerMetl00 steel had fine directionally solidified cellular dendrite structure and coarse columnar prior austenite grains. Metallurgical de fects such as gas pore and lack-of-fusion porosity were produced during the laser deposition process. After HIP treat- ment, the number and size of metallurgical defects had remarkably decreased. Moreover, high-cycle fatigue proper ties of the alloys after HIP treatment were superior to the as-deposited alloys.

Enhancement of Strength–Ductility Balance of the Laser Melting Deposited 12CrNi2 Alloy Steel Via Multi-step Quenching Treatment

A ferrite–austenite 12CrNi2 alloy steel additively manufactured by laser melting deposition(LMD) was heat treated by direct quenching(DQ) and tempering inter-critical quenching(TIQ) at 800 ℃ for enhancing its strength–ductility balance. Both heat-treated alloy steels have the martensite–ferrite dual-phase(DP) microstructures. The volume fractions of martensite in the two treated alloy steels are nearly similar(~ 85 vol%), while the sizes of the prior austenitic grain for martensite are different. The martensite-dominated DP microstructure resulted in an obvious improvement in strength–ductility balance of the alloy steel. Compared with the DQ treatment, the multi-step TIQ treatment caused the strength–ductility balance of the alloy steel to be enhanced due to its higher total elongation. The better ductility of the TIQ-treated alloy steel can be attributed to the optimization of the microstructure. The preferred orientation of ferritic grain in the as-deposited alloy steel which was adverse to plastic deformation through dislocation slip was eliminated via the multi-step TIQ treatment. Moreover, the TIQ treatment promoted the formation of finer-grained martensite with larger areas of grain boundaries and twinning boundaries which resulted in the enhancement of the coordinated deformability of the martensite with the ferrite.

The relationship between thermo-mechanical history,microstructure and mechanical properties in additively manufactured CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy

Here,a single-track CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy(HEA)was successfully fabricated by laser melting deposition(LMD).Combining the experimental observations and numerical simulation,the microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-deposited parts were systematically studied from the perspective of thermo-mechanical history experienced during the LMD process.The strengthening mechanisms of the LMDed CoCrFeMnNi HEA parts were clarified.The frictional stress strengthening,grain boundary strengthening and dislocation strengthening contributed the whole yield strength of the parts.Dislocation strengthening dominated the strengthening mechanism.It was expected that the establishment of the relationship between thermo-mechanical history,microstructure and mechanical properties of the LMDed CoCrFeMnNi HEA could shed more insights into achieving HEA parts with the desired microstructure and high performance.

A Review on Distortion and Residual Stress in Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing(AM)has gained extensive attention and tremendous research due to its advantages of fabricating complex-shaped parts without the need of casting mold.However,distortion is a known issue for many AM technologies,which decreases the precision of as-built parts.Like fusion welding,the local high-energy input generates residual stresses,which can adversely affect the fatigue performance of AM parts.To the best of the authors’knowledge,a comprehensive review does not exist regarding the distortion and residual stresses dedicated for AM,despite some work has explored the interrelationship between the two.The present review is aimed to fill in the identified knowledge gap,by first describing the evolution of distortion and residual stresses for a range of AM processes,and second assessing their influencing factors.This allows us to elucidate their formation mechanisms from both the micro-and macro-scales.Moreover,approaches which have been successfully adopted to mitigate both the distortion and residual stresses are reviewed.It is anticipated that this review paper opens many opportunities to increase the success rate of AM parts by improving the dimension precision and fatigue life.