Influence of layer thickness on formation quality,microstructure,mechanical properties,and corrosion resistance of WE43 magnesium alloy fabricated by laser powder bed fusion

Laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)of Mg alloys has provided tremendous opportunities for customized production of aeronautical and medical parts.Layer thickness(LT)is of great significance to the L-PBF process but has not been studied for Mg alloys.In this study,WE43 Mg alloy bulk cubes,porous scaffolds,and thin walls with layer thicknesses of 10,20,30,and 40μm were fabricated.The required laser energy input increased with increasing layer thickness and was different for the bulk cubes and porous scaffolds.Porosity tended to occur at the connection joints in porous scaffolds for LT40 and could be eliminated by reducing the laser energy input.For thin wall parts,a large overhang angle or a small wall thickness resulted in porosity when a large layer thicknesses was used,and the porosity disappeared by reducing the layer thickness or laser energy input.A deeper keyhole penetration was found in all occasions with porosity,explaining the influence of layer thickness,geometrical structure,and laser energy input on the porosity.All the samples achieved a high fusion quality with a relative density of over 99.5%using the optimized laser energy input.The increased layer thickness resulted to more precipitation phases,finer grain sizes and decreased grain texture.With the similar high fusion quality,the tensile strength and elongation of bulk samples were significantly improved from 257 MPa and 1.41%with the 10μm layer to 287 MPa and 15.12%with the 40μm layer,in accordance with the microstructural change.The effect of layer thickness on the compressive properties of porous scaffolds was limited.However,the corrosion rate of bulk samples accelerated with increasing the layer thickness,mainly attributed to the increased number of precipitation phases.

Alloy design for laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing:a critical review

Metal additive manufacturing(AM)has been extensively studied in recent decades.Despite the significant progress achieved in manufacturing complex shapes and structures,challenges such as severe cracking when using existing alloys for laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)AM have persisted.These challenges arise because commercial alloys are primarily designed for conventional casting or forging processes,overlooking the fast cooling rates,steep temperature gradients and multiple thermal cycles of L-PBF.To address this,there is an urgent need to develop novel alloys specifically tailored for L-PBF technologies.This review provides a comprehensive summary of the strategies employed in alloy design for L-PBF.It aims to guide future research on designing novel alloys dedicated to L-PBF instead of adapting existing alloys.The review begins by discussing the features of the L-PBF processes,focusing on rapid solidification and intrinsic heat treatment.Next,the printability of the four main existing alloys(Fe-,Ni-,Al-and Ti-based alloys)is critically assessed,with a comparison of their conventional weldability.It was found that the weldability criteria are not always applicable in estimating printability.Furthermore,the review presents recent advances in alloy development and associated strategies,categorizing them into crack mitigation-oriented,microstructure manipulation-oriented and machine learning-assisted approaches.Lastly,an outlook and suggestions are given to highlight the issues that need to be addressed in future work.

Characterization, preparation, and reuse of metallic powders for laser powder bed fusion: a review

Laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF) has attracted significant attention in both the industry and academic fields since its inception, providing unprecedented advantages to fabricate complex-shaped metallic components. The printing quality and performance of L-PBF alloys are infuenced by numerous variables consisting of feedstock powders, manufacturing process,and post-treatment. As the starting materials, metallic powders play a critical role in infuencing the fabrication cost, printing consistency, and properties. Given their deterministic roles, the present review aims to retrospect the recent progress on metallic powders for L-PBF including characterization, preparation, and reuse. The powder characterization mainly serves for printing consistency while powder preparation and reuse are introduced to reduce the fabrication costs.Various powder characterization and preparation methods are presented in the beginning by analyzing the measurement principles, advantages, and limitations. Subsequently, the effect of powder reuse on the powder characteristics and mechanical performance of L-PBF parts is analyzed, focusing on steels, nickel-based superalloys, titanium and titanium alloys, and aluminum alloys. The evolution trends of powders and L-PBF parts vary depending on specific alloy systems, which makes the proposal of a unified reuse protocol infeasible. Finally,perspectives are presented to cater to the increased applications of L-PBF technologies for future investigations. The present state-of-the-art work can pave the way for the broad industrial applications of L-PBF by enhancing printing consistency and reducing the total costs from the perspective of powders.

Role of heterogenous microstructure and deformation behavior in achieving superior strength-ductility synergy in zinc fabricated via laser powder bed fusion

Zinc(Zn)is considered a promising biodegradable metal for implant applications due to its appropriate degradability and favorable osteogenesis properties.In this work,laser powder bed fusion(LPBF)additive manufacturing was employed to fabricate pure Zn with a heterogeneous microstructure and exceptional strength-ductility synergy.An optimized processing window of LPBF was established for printing Zn samples with relative densities greater than 99%using a laser power range of 80∼90 W and a scanning speed of 900 mm s−1.The Zn sample printed with a power of 80 W at a speed of 900 mm s−1 exhibited a hierarchical heterogeneous microstructure consisting of millimeter-scale molten pool boundaries,micrometer-scale bimodal grains,and nanometer-scale pre-existing dislocations,due to rapid cooling rates and significant thermal gradients formed in the molten pools.The printed sample exhibited the highest ductility of∼12.1%among all reported LPBF-printed pure Zn to date with appreciable ultimate tensile strength(∼128.7 MPa).Such superior strength-ductility synergy can be attributed to the presence of multiple deformation mechanisms that are primarily governed by heterogeneous deformation-induced hardening resulting from the alternative arrangement of bimodal Zn grains with pre-existing dislocations.Additionally,continuous strain hardening was facilitated through the interactions between deformation twins,grains and dislocations as strain accumulated,further contributing to the superior strength-ductility synergy.These findings provide valuable insights into the deformation behavior and mechanisms underlying exceptional mechanical properties of LPBF-printed Zn and its alloys for implant applications.

A High-Resolution Measurement Method for Inner and Outer 3D Surface Profiles of Laser Fusion Targets Using a Laser Differential Confocal–Atomic Force Probe Technique

The high-resolution and nondestructive co-reference measurement of the inner and outer threedimensional(3D)surface profiles of laser fusion targets is difficult to achieve.In this study,we propose a laser differential confocal(LDC)–atomic force probe(AFP)method to measure the inner and outer 3D surface profiles of laser fusion targets at a high resolution.This method utilizes the LDC method to detect the deflection of the AFP and exploits the high spatial resolution of the AFP to enhance the spatial resolution of the outer profile measurement.Nondestructive and co-reference measurements of the inner profile of a target were achieved using the tomographic characteristics of the LDC method.Furthermore,by combining multiple repositionings of the target using a horizontal slewing shaft,the inner and outer 3D surface profiles of the target were obtained,along with a power spectrum assessment of the entire surface.The experimental results revealed that the respective axial and lateral resolutions of the outer profile measurement were 0.5 and 1.3 nm,while the respective axial and lateral resolutions of the inner profile measurement were 2.0 nm and approximately 400.0 nm.The repeatabilities of the rootmean-square deviation measurements for the outer and inner profiles of the target were 2.6 and 2.4 nm,respectively.We believe our study provides a promising method for the high-resolution and nondestructive co-reference measurement of the inner and outer 3D profiles of laser fusion targets.

Effect of process parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of a nickel-aluminum-bronze alloy fabricated by laser powder bed fusion

This work investigated the effect of process parameters on densification,microstructure,and mechanical properties of a nickel-aluminum-bronze(NAB)alloy fabricated by laser powder bed fusion(LPBF)additive manufacturing.The LPBF-printed NAB alloy samples with relative densities of over 98.5%were obtained under the volumetric energy density range of 200−250 J/mm^(3).The microstructure of the NAB alloy printed in both horizontal and vertical planes primarily consisted ofβ'martensitic phase and bandedαphase.In particular,a coarser-columnar grain structure and stronger crystallographic texture were achieved in the vertical plane,where the maximum texture intensity was 30.56 times greater than that of random textures at the(100)plane.Increasing the volumetric energy density resulted in a decrease in the columnar grain size,while increasing the amount ofαphase.Notably,β_(1)'martensitic structures with nanotwins and nanoscaleκ-phase precipitates were identified in the microstructure of LPBF-printed NAB samples with a volumetric energy density of 250 J/mm^(3).Furthermore,under optimal process parameters with a laser power of 350 W and scanning speed of 800 mm/s,significant improvements were observed in the microhardness(HV 386)and ultimate tensile strength(671 MPa),which was attributed to an increase in refined acicular martensite.

Mechanical and damping performances of TPMS lattice metamaterials fabricated by laser powder bed fusion

Lattice metamaterials based on three-period minimum surface(TPMS)are an effective means to achieve lightweight and high-strength materials which are widely used in various fields such as aerospace and ships.However,its vibration and noise reduction,and damping properties have not been fully studied.Therefore,in this study,the TPMS structures with parameterization were designed by the method of surface migration,and the TPMS structures with high forming quality was manufactured by laser powder bed fusion(LPBF).The mechanical properties and energy absorption characteristics of the beam and TPMS structures were studied and compared by quasi-static compression.The modal shapes of the beam lattice structures and TPMS structures were obtained by the free modal analysis,and the damping properties of two structures were obtained by modal tests.For the two structures after heat treatment with the same porosity of 70%,the yield strength of the beam lattice structure reaches 40.76 MPa,elastic modulus is 20.38 GPa,the energy absorption value is 32.23 MJ·m^(-3),the damping ratio is 0.52%.The yield strength,elastic modulus,energy absorption value,and damping ratio of the TPMS structure are 50.74 MPa,25.37 GPa,47.34 MJ·m^(-3),and 0.99%,respectively.The results show that TPMS structures exhibit more excellent mechanical properties and energy absorption,better damping performance,and obvious advantages in structural load and vibration and noise reduction compared with the beam lattice structures under the same porosity.

Effect of solution treatment on the microstructure,phase transformation behavior and functional properties of NiTiNb ternary shape memory alloys fabricated via laser powder bed fusion in-situ alloying

Post-heat treatment is commonly employed to improve the microstructural homogeneity and enhance the mechanical performances of the additively manufactured metallic materials.In this work,a ternary(NiTi)91Nb9(at.%)shape memory alloy was produced by laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)using pre-alloyed NiTi and elemental Nb powders.The effect of solution treatment on the microstructure,phase transformation behavior and mechanical/functional performances was investigated.The in-situ alloyed(NiTi)91Nb9 alloy exhibits a submicron cellular-dendritic structure surrounding the supersaturated B2-NiTi matrix.Upon high-temperature(1273 K)solution treatment,Nb-rich precipitates were precipitated from the supersaturated matrix.The fragmentation and spheroidization of the NiTi/Nb eutectics occurred during solution treatment,leading to a morphological transition from mesh-like into rod-like and sphere-like.Coarsening of theβ-Nb phases occurred with increasing holding time.The martensite transformation temperature increases after solution treatment,mainly attributed to:(i)reduced lattice distortion due to the Nb expulsion from the supersaturated B2-NiTi,and(ii)the Ti expulsion from theβ-Nb phases that lowers the ratio Ni/Ti in the B2-NiTi matrix,which resulted from the microstructure changes from non-equilibrium to equilibrium state.The thermal hysteresis of the solutionized alloys is around 145 K after 20%pre-deformation,which is comparable to the conventional NiTiNb alloys.A short-term solution treatment(i.e.at 1273 K for 30 min)enhances the ductility and strength of the as-printed specimen,with the increase of fracture stress from(613±19)MPa to(781±20)MPa and the increase of fracture strain from(7.6±0.1)%to(9.5±0.4)%.Both the as-printed and solutionized samples exhibit good tensile shape memory effects with recovery rates>90%.This work suggests that post-process heat treatment is essential to optimize the microstructure and improve the mechanical performances of the L-PBF in-situ alloyed parts.

Unveiling the cellular microstructure-property relations in martensitic stainless steel via laser powder bed fusion

Laser powder bed fusion(LPBF)is a widely recognized additive manufacturing technology that can fabricate complex components rapidly through layer-by-layer formation.However,there is a paucity of research on the effect of laser scanning speed on the cellular microstructure and mechanical properties of martensitic stainless steel.This study systematically investigated the influence of laser scanning speed on the cellular microstructure and mechanical properties of a developed Fe11Cr8Ni5Co3Mo martensitic stainless steel produced by LPBF.The results show that increasing the laser scanning speed from 400 to 1000 mm/s does not lead to a noticeable change in the phase fraction,but it reduces the average size of the cellular microstructure from 0.60 to 0.35μm.The scanning speeds of 400 and 1000 mm/s both had adverse effects on performances of sample,resulting in inadequate fusion and keyhole defects respectively.The optimal scanning speed for fabricating samples was determined to be 800 mm/s,which obtained the highest room temperature tensile strength and elongation,with the ultimate tensile strength measured at(1088.3±2.0)MPa and the elongation of(16.76±0.10)%.Furthermore,the mechanism of the evolution of surface morphology,defects,and energy input were clarified,and the relationship between cellular microstructure size and mechanical properties was also established.

A review on the multi-scaled structures and mechanical/thermal properties of tool steels fabricated by laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing

The laser powder bed fusion(LPBF) process can integrally form geometrically complex and high-performance metallic parts that have attracted much interest,especially in the molds industry.The appearance of the LPBF makes it possible to design and produce complex conformal cooling channel systems in molds.Thus,LPBF-processed tool steels have attracted more and more attention.The complex thermal history in the LPBF process makes the microstructural characteristics and properties different from those of conventional manufactured tool steels.This paper provides an overview of LPBF-processed tool steels by describing the physical phenomena,the microstructural characteristics,and the mechanical/thermal properties,including tensile properties,wear resistance,and thermal properties.The microstructural characteristics are presented through a multiscale perspective,ranging from densification,meso-structure,microstructure,substructure in grains,to nanoprecipitates.Finally,a summary of tool steels and their challenges and outlooks are introduced.

Towards implementation of alloy-specific thermo-fluid modelling for laser powder-bed fusion of Mg alloys

Multi-physics thermo-fluid modeling has been extensively used as an approach to understand melt pool dynamics and defect formation as well as optimizing the process-related parameters of laser powder-bed fusion(L-PBF).However,its capabilities for being implemented as a reliable tool for material design,where minor changes in material-related parameters must be accurately captured,is still in question.In the present research,first,a thermo-fluid computational fluid dynamics(CFD)model is developed and validated against experimental data.Considering the predicted material properties of the pure Mg and commercial ZK60 and WE43 Mg alloys,parametric studies are done attempting to elucidate how the difference in some of the material properties,i.e.,saturated vapor pressure,viscosity,and solidification range,can influence the melt pool dynamics.It is found that a higher saturated vapor pressure,associated with the ZK60 alloy,leads to a deeper unstable keyhole,increasing the keyhole-induced porosity and evaporation mass loss.Higher viscosity and wider solidification range can increase the non-uniformity of temperature and velocity distribution on the keyhole walls,resulting in increased keyhole instability and formation of defects.Finally,the WE43 alloy showed the best behavior in terms of defect formation and evaporation mass loss,providing theoretical support to the extensive use of this alloy in L-PBF.In summary,this study suggests an approach to investigate the effect of materials-related parameters on L-PBF melting and solidification,which can be extremely helpful for future design of new alloys suitable for L-PBF.

The second fusion of laser and aerospace-an inspiration for high energy lasers

Since the first laser was invented,the pursuit of high-energy lasers(HELs)has always been enthusiastic.The first revolution of HELs was pushed by the fusion of laser and aerospace in the 1960s,with the chemical rocket engines giving fresh impetus to the birth of gas flow and chemical lasers,which finally turned megawatt lasers from dream into reality.Nowadays,the development of HELs has entered the age of electricity as well as the rocket engines.The properties of current electric rocket engines are highly consistent with HELs’goals,including electrical driving,effective heat dissipation,little medium consumption and extremely light weight and size,which inspired a second fusion of laser and aerospace and motivated the exploration for potential HELs.As an exploratory attempt,a new configuration of diode pumped metastable rare gas laser was demonstrated,with the gain generator resembling an electric rocket-engine for improved power scaling ability.

Laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of NiTi shape memory alloys: a review

NiTi alloys have drawn significant attentions in biomedical and aerospace fields due to their unique shape memory effect(SME),superelasticity(SE),damping characteristics,high corrosion resistance,and good biocompatibility.Because of the unsatisfying processabilities and manufacturing requirements of complex NiTi components,additive manufacturing technology,especially laser powder bed fusion(LPBF),is appropriate for fabricating NiTi products.This paper comprehensively summarizes recent research on the NiTi alloys fabricated by LPBF,including printability,microstructural characteristics,phase transformation behaviors,lattice structures,and applications.Process parameters and microstructural features mainly influence the printability of LPBF-processed NiTi alloys.The phase transformation behaviors between austenite and martensite phases,phase transformation temperatures,and an overview of the influencing factors are summarized in this paper.This paper provides a comprehensive review of the mechanical properties with unique strain-stress responses,which comprise tensile mechanical properties,thermomechanical properties(e.g.critical stress to induce martensitic transformation,thermo-recoverable strain,and SE strain),damping properties and hardness.Moreover,several common structures(e.g.a negative Poisson’s ratio structure and a diamond-like structure)are considered,and the corresponding studies are summarized.It illustrates the various fields of application,including biological scaffolds,shock absorbers,and driving devices.In the end,the paper concludes with the main achievements from the recent studies and puts forward the limitations and development tendencies in the future.

Phase-field simulation of lack-of-fusion defect and grain growth during laser powder bed fusion of Inconel 718

The anisotropy of the structure and properties caused by the strong epitaxial growth of grains during laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)significantly affects the mechanical performance of Inconel 718 alloy components such as turbine disks.The defects(lack-of-fusion Lo F)in components processed via L-PBF are detrimental to the strength of the alloy.The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of laser scanning parameters on the epitaxial grain growth and LoF formation in order to obtain the parameter space in which the microstructure is refined and LoF defect is suppressed.The temperature field of the molten pool and the epitaxial grain growth are simulated using a multiscale model combining the finite element method with the phase-field method.The LoF model is proposed to predict the formation of LoF defects resulting from insufficient melting during L-PBF.Defect mitigation and grain-structure control during L-PBF can be realized simultaneously in the model.The simulation shows the input laser energy density for the as-deposited structure with fine grains and without LoF defects varied from 55.0–62.5 J·mm^(-3)when the interlayer rotation angle was 0°–90°.The optimized process parameters(laser power of 280 W,scanning speed of 1160 mm·s^(-1),and rotation angle of 67°)were computationally screened.In these conditions,the average grain size was 7.0μm,and the ultimate tensile strength and yield strength at room temperature were(1111±3)MPa and(820±7)MPa,respectively,which is 8.8%and10.5%higher than those of reported.The results indicating the proposed multiscale computational approach for predicting grain growth and Lo F defects could allow simultaneous grain-structure control and defect mitigation during L-PBF.

Investigation of the Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process of Ti-6.5Al-3.5Mo-1.5Zr-0.3Si Alloy

Laser powder bed fusion(LPBF)is an advanced manufacturing technology;however,inappropriate LPBF process parameters may cause printing defects in materials.In the present work,the LPBF process of Ti-6.5Al-3.5Mo-1.5Zr-0.3Si alloy was investigated by a two-step optimization approach.Subsequently,heat transfer and liquid flow behaviors during LPBF were simulated by a well-tested phenomenological model,and the defect formation mechanisms in the as-fabricated alloy were discussed.The optimized process parameters for LPBF were detected as laser power changed from 195 W to 210 W,with scanning speed of 1250 mm/s.The LPBF process was divided into a laser irradiation stage,a spreading flow stage,and a solidification stage.The morphologies and defects of deposited tracks were affected by liquid flow behavior caused by rapid cooling rates.The findings of this research can provide valuable support for printing defect-free metal components.

Backward scattering of laser plasma interactions from hundreds-of-joules broadband laser on thick target

The use of broadband laser technology is a novel approach for inhibiting processes related to laser plasma interactions(LPIs).In this study,several preliminary experiments into broadband-laser-driven LPIs are carried out using a newly established hundreds-of-joules broadband second-harmonic-generation laser facility.Through direct comparison with LPI results for a traditional narrowband laser,the actual LPI-suppression effect of the broadband laser is shown.The broadband laser had a clear suppressive effect on both back-stimulated Raman scattering and back-stimulated Brillouin scattering at laser intensities below 1×10^(15) W cm^(−2).An abnormal hot-electron phenomenon is also investigated,using targets of different thicknesses.

Underwater four-quadrant dual-beam circumferential scanning laser fuze using nonlinear adaptive backscatter filter based on pauseable SAF-LMS algorithm

The phenomenon of a target echo peak overlapping with the backscattered echo peak significantly undermines the detection range and precision of underwater laser fuzes.To overcome this issue,we propose a four-quadrant dual-beam circumferential scanning laser fuze to distinguish various interference signals and provide more real-time data for the backscatter filtering algorithm.This enhances the algorithm loading capability of the fuze.In order to address the problem of insufficient filtering capacity in existing linear backscatter filtering algorithms,we develop a nonlinear backscattering adaptive filter based on the spline adaptive filter least mean square(SAF-LMS)algorithm.We also designed an algorithm pause module to retain the original trend of the target echo peak,improving the time discrimination accuracy and anti-interference capability of the fuze.Finally,experiments are conducted with varying signal-to-noise ratios of the original underwater target echo signals.The experimental results show that the average signal-to-noise ratio before and after filtering can be improved by more than31 d B,with an increase of up to 76%in extreme detection distance.

Laser spectroscopy imaging technique coupled withnanomaterials for cancer diagnosis: A review

Laser spectroscopic imaging techniques have received tremendous attention in the-eld of cancer diagnosis due to their high sensitivity,high temporal resolution,and short acquisition time.However,the limited tissue penetration of the laser is still a challenge for the in vivo diagnosis of deep-seated lesions.Nanomaterials have been universally integrated with spectroscopic imaging techniques for deeper cancer diagnosis in vivo.The components,morphology,and sizes of nanomaterials are delicately designed,which could realize cancer diagnosis in vivo or in situ.Considering the enhanced signal emitting from the nanomaterials,we emphasized their combination with spectroscopic imaging techniques for cancer diagnosis,like the surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS),photoacoustic,fluorescence,and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS).Applications ofthe above spectroscopic techniques offer new prospectsfor cancer diagnosis.

Diagnosis of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the stomach by confocal laser endomicroscopy:A case report

BACKGROUND In recent years,confocal laser endomicroscopy(CLE)has become a new endoscopic imaging technology at the microscopic level,which is extensively performed for real-time in vivo histological examination.CLE can be performed to distinguish benign from malignant lesions.In this study,we diagnosed using CLE an asymptomatic patient with poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma.CASE SUMMARY A 63-year-old woman was diagnosed with gastric mucosal lesions,which may be gastric cancer,in the small curvature of the stomach by gastroscopy.She consented to undergo CLE for morphological observation of the gastric mucosa.Through the combination of CLE diagnosis and postoperative pathology,the intraoperative CLE diagnosis was considered to be reliable.According to our experience,CLE can be performed as the first choice for the diagnosis of gastric cancer.CONCLUSION CLE has several advantages over pathological diagnosis.We believe that CLE has great potential in the diagnosis of benign and malignant gastric lesions.

Laser‑Induced and MOF‑Derived Metal Oxide/Carbon Composite for Synergistically Improved Ethanol Sensing at Room temperature

Advancements in sensor technology have significantly enhanced atmospheric monitoring.Notably,metal oxide and carbon(MO_(x)/C)hybrids have gained attention for their exceptional sensitivity and room-temperature sensing performance.However,previous methods of synthesizing MO_(x)/C composites suffer from problems,including inhomogeneity,aggregation,and challenges in micropatterning.Herein,we introduce a refined method that employs a metal–organic framework(MOF)as a precursor combined with direct laser writing.The inherent structure of MOFs ensures a uniform distribution of metal ions and organic linkers,yielding homogeneous MO_(x)/C structures.The laser processing facilitates precise micropatterning(<2μm,comparable to typical photolithography)of the MO_(x)/C crystals.The optimized MOF-derived MO_(x)/C sensor rapidly detected ethanol gas even at room temperature(105 and 18 s for response and recovery,respectively),with a broad range of sensing performance from 170 to 3,400 ppm and a high response value of up to 3,500%.Additionally,this sensor exhibited enhanced stability and thermal resilience compared to previous MOF-based counterparts.This research opens up promising avenues for practical applications in MOF-derived sensing devices.