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Lack of fusion (LOF) defects impact adversely on the mechanical properties of additively manufactured components produced via laser-based powder bed fusion. Following a stress-relieving heat treatment, the tensile properties and hardness of Ti6Al4V components were found to be negatively impacted by the presence of LOF defects. This work considers a geometrical-based inequality for the prediction of LOF defects. We critically evaluate an LOF criterion using both the experimentally and analytically obtained melt pool geometries. Experimentally, we determined melt pool dimensions by analysing a single-layer, multi-track deposition with oversized hatch spacing in order to establish depth and width from non-overlapping melt pools. Analytically, Rosenthal-based predictions of melt pool size (width and depth) are applied. To investigate LOF defects, we used hatch spacing as the main parameter variation to investigate defects while keeping all other controllable parameters unchanged. An original LOF criterion from the literature was found to be an adequate predictor of LOF defects when experimentally obtained melt pool geometry was used. Critically, however, the analytical expressions for melt pool geometry were found to be in error and this caused the LOF criterion to fail in predicting LOF defects in all cases where defects were observed experimentally. However, an adaptation to the LOF prediction criterion is proposed whereby it is recommended that a correction factor $${R}_{c}^{2}=0.7$$ R c 2 = 0.7 (or $${R}_{c}=0.83$$ R c = 0.83 ) is used with the analytically derived melt pool geometry. Furthermore, this correction is extended into the laser power versus scanning speed operating space to give minimum (corrected) line energy for LOF avoidance in Ti6Al4V components.

Selective Laser Melting is an additive manufacturing practice that permits the production of metal alloy-based parts. While facilitating the design of complex geometry, SLM leads to the fabrication of a unique material structure that showcases distinct behavioural characteristics relative to their traditional methods of material manufacture. Defects that are innate to SLM inspire the presence of a compositional outlook that is inhomogeneous in nature and only serves to hinder part efficiency. Thus, the Theory of Critical Distances offers a refreshed proposal to evaluating notched Ti-6Al-4V material produced by additive manufacturing processes. Key principles of the theory’s working mechanisms are outlined. Subsequently, symmetrical notches of contrasting size are assessed. Findings reveal that the Theory of Critical Distances is adequately compatible with accurate fatigue prediction of SLM Ti-6Al-4V in its as-built state. Additionally, fracture surface analysis reveals that crack initiation is predominantly a surface-based phenomenon. Hereby, increased focus must be given to the quality of processed material that is located at the externalities of additively manufactured components, in order to enhance their service life capabilities. This will induce an increasingly uniform material structure that will allow for more predictable behavioural characteristics.

The performance of two distinct coating materials under alumina particle impingement was tested in this study. CrMnFeCoNi and WC-Ni coatings were applied to 2205 duplex stainless steel substrates using cold spray method with nitrogen as the process gas. In between the substrate and the high entropy alloy coating, an interlayer coating of 316 stainless steel was used. The presence of WC particles in the WC-Ni composite coatings was confirmed by SEM cross sectional inspection. Following deposition, the coatings were heat treated in an air furnace. The influence of heat treatment holding time on the WC-Ni coatings was studied using chemical analysis by X-ray diffraction. Heat treatments peak temperatures for the WC/Ni- Ni and high entropy alloy coatings were 600°C and 550°C, respectively. Coatings microhardness and porosity volume fraction were measured for all the samples. The HEA coating outperformed the WC/Ni-Ni hardness but exhibited a higher level of porosity. The coatings were then subjected to erosion experiments using alumina particles with variable impact angles (30°, 60°, and 90°). To compare the different materials, an average erosion value was calculated for each target specimen. The WC/Ni-Ni as-sprayed coating was the most effective against a 60° impingement angle. The HEA coating, on the other hand, demonstrated greater resistance to impact angles of 30° and 90°. SEM was utilized to examine the eroded areas and determine the main mechanisms of erosion.

Infection caused by bacterial contamination is a critical problem challenging the successful use of medical implants in orthopaedic and dental applications. Consequently, medical implants with antibacterial abilities are in high demand. Tantalum and silver have been previously characterized to have excellent biocompatibility and antibacterial ability, but due to their significantly different properties, it is challenging to manufacture Ta-Ag components via thermal processing methods. Herein, by taking advantage of the unique characteristics of cold spray (CS) technology, an antibacterial Ta-Ag coating was successfully fabricated for the first time. In the CS process, blended Ta-Ag powders with different Ag concentrations were used to fabricate CS Ta-Ag coatings. Their antibacterial ability was preliminary tested and deposition behaviour was systematically investigated. The coating significantly reduced the metabolic activity of S. aureus bacteria, and a better deposition efficiency was obtained by blended Ta-Ag powder. It was found that soft Ag could aggregate in the coating and hard Ta particles were prone to rebound, which induced the peening effect for Ag and mass loss of Ta in the final coating Moreover, the clue of metallurgy bonding between Ta and Ag was detected in the region that experienced severe deformation despite their immiscibility.

In this study, three porous NiTi scaffolds with the same porosity but different pore sizes (900, 835, and 618 μm) were fabricated via selective laser melting (SLM). The microstructure, mechanical properties, shape memory properties, and in vitro biocompatibility of the different porous NiTi scaffolds were studied systematically by scanning electron microscopy, micro-computed tomography, differential scanning calorimetry, compressive testing, and in vitro cell culture experiments. The pore sizes of the SLM porous NiTi scaffolds were smaller than those of computer-aided design models owing to the existence of spatter powders, whereas the strut diameters showed the opposite tendency. Furthermore, the elastic modulus of the three NiTi scaffolds was close to that of human bones and lower than that of most previously reported porous NiTi and Ti alloys with similar porosities. Moreover, the scaffolds demonstrated better compressive strength than that of most of the reported porous NiTi alloys with similar porosities as well as better strength and fracture strain than those of human bones, particularly for scaffolds with larger pore sizes. Moreover, the best recoverable strain of 5.10% and recovery rate of 91.4% were obtained for porous NiTi scaffolds with a pore size of 900 μm owing to their minimal stress concentration during loading. The in vitro study further demonstrated that a relatively small pore size could promote the bridging growth of cells in pores, and the in vitro biocompatibility of the porous NiTi scaffolds was equivalent to that of bulk SLM NiTi. The results obtained in this study can provide guidance for the application of porous NiTi scaffolds in biological implants.

Additively manufactured components by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) often suffer from stress-induced cracks (e.g. delamination), especially at the build-substrate interfaces where stiff mechanical constraints and large thermal gradients coexist. To reduce the probability of cracking, this work proposes an innovative strategy to optimize the geometry of the substrate by reducing its mechanical stiffness and, consequently, the stress accumulation during LPBF. To assess the feasibility of the strategy, a coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model, calibrated with the experimental evidence obtained from the LPBF metal deposition of a bridge-type structure, is used to predict the thermo-mechanical behavior of two T-shape AM parts built on (i) a typical solid substrate and (ii) a groove patterned substrate, respectively. The results show that several visible cracks appear at the interface between the build and the typical solid substrate due to stress concentration (up to 1600 MPa), while a crack-free component can be manufactured by adding grooves through the thickness of the substrate, without compromising the resulting microstructure and microhardness of the metallic materials with high crack sensitivity. The difference between the groove patterned substrate design with respect to the use of support structures used for printing cantilever structures is clarified to further justify the novelty of the proposed approach. This work was funded by the Enterprise Ireland project (No. CF-2020–1564-A/B), the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2016YFB1100100), the European KYKLOS 4.0 project (No. 872570) and the China Scholarship Council (No. 201906290011). The authors also acknowledge the AR-Lab and the AML in TCD.

Post-processing is one of the main ways to improve mechanical and microstructural characteristics of stainless steel 316L fabricated by the laser-based powder bed fusion (LPBF) process. In this study, optimized LPBF parameters were used to manufacture SS316L bars. For the post-processing, two main heat treatment strategies have been used, quenching and tempering, with various heating and dwelling conditions. While micro-CT scanning was used to identify the porosity inside the as-built specimen, the microstructures of both as-built and heat-treated specimens were additionally investigated by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The tensile test's wrought specimens were obtained at various strain rates of 0.1, 0.01, and 0.001 s-1. A two-dimensional (2D) digital image correlation (DIC) technique and fractography analysis were used to understand the tensile behavior further. The results show that the as-built specimen density level was in the range of 99.993-99.997%, with only extremely small pockets of pores present. The microstructure results show that temperature distribution is the most important factor in the formation of columnar grains (CG). The columnar-shaped grains formed from the edge of the melt pool (MP) in the direction of the laser motion path. The resulting dimensions and form of the cellular structures are presented. The crystal orientation of the specimens was also studied with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The result shows that the fraction of directional grains is relatively small due to a scan rotation and the scanning strategies adopted during the LPBF process. With heating at 1050°C with a dwell time of 40 minutes, followed by quenching in cold water, smaller grain sizes were obtained, meaning longer grain boundaries and major impediments to dislocation motion, leading to better mechanical properties and fracture characteristics over wrought specimens. The results of EBSD and SEM were also correlated with the 2D DIC test results.

About 3 mm thick five-element equimolar high-entropy alloy (HEA) FeCoCrNiMn was successfully deposited by solid-state cold spraying (CS). The high-temperature oxidation behavior of the CSed HEA was investigated at 700-900 °C. Heat treatment was performed on the CSed HEA before oxidation to heal the incomplete interfaces between the deposited particles. Results show that the microstructure of the CSed HEA is characterized by grain refinement and abundant interparticle incomplete interfaces. Post-spray heat treatment promotes recrystallization and grain growth in the CSed HEA. After oxidation testing, the oxide scales are composed of multi-layers: a Mn2O3 (or Mn3O4) outer layer, a Mn-Cr spinel intermediate layer and a Cr2O3 inner layer. The CSed HEA exhibits higher parabolic rate constants and more favorable internal oxidation than the bulk HEAs that have similar compositions in the literature. Such a discrepancy becomes pronounced at higher temperatures. The grain refinement and numerous particle boundaries are responsible for such a distinctive performance of the CSed HEA.

INCONEL 718 superalloy (IN 718) is frequently used in highly aggressive environments, such as aerospace and gas turbine engines, where excellent mechanical properties, creep-, fatigue- and oxidation-resistance performance at high and cryogenic temperatures are required. Recent studies have successfully cold sprayed IN 718, showing great potential mainly in maintenance and repairing fields. However, due to the low plastic deformation, the manufacture of IN 718 cold sprayed coatings often requires the use of expensive propulsive gases or high working parameters to enhance deposition efficiency, with a significant increase in production costs. This paper investigates for the first time the addition of Ni to IN 718 powders in order to increase plastic deformation and interparticle bonding strength. Four composite coatings were deposited via a high-pressure cold spray process using nitrogen as propulsive gas, considering different IN 718 mass fractions in the feedstock: C1 (0 wt%), C2 (25 wt%), C3 (50 wt%), C4 (75 wt%). The coatings are examined in terms of microstructural characteristics and tribological performance. The addition of IN 718 particles significantly improves the mechanical properties of the coatings, despite an increase in porosity, which however does not exceed 1%. The tribological performance of the four coatings is investigated using a pin-on-disk test, demonstrating that the coating wear resistance behaviour improved as the IN 718 content increased. Analysis of the wear mechanism shows that C4 coating has a different wear behaviour than the other coatings, thus achieving the best wear-resistance performance.

Additive manufacturing techniques such as selective laser melting enable the production of customised components with high geometrical freedom. However, SLM results in a material condition with different properties to their conventionally manufactured counterparts. The presence of process-inherent defects can significantly impact the degradation of part performance. Hereby, a novel approach to assessing notched SLM Ti-6Al-4V material via a critical distance theory is presented. Geometrical notches of varying size are evaluated. Results show that the Theory of Critical Distances is appropriately applicable to fatigue prediction of SLM Ti-6Al-4V in its as-built state.

The cohesion mechanism of cold sprayed metal matrix composite coating reinforced with core-shell-structured particles was studied. Al and Cu-Ni-coated diamond were used as the matrix and the reinforcement, respectively. The two components were found metallurgically bonded as evidenced by a formation of CuAl2 layer at the interface. Owing to this enhanced matrix-reinforcement bonding, the core-shelled diamond particles delivered superior deposition (i.e., higher diamond deposition efficiency, higher diamond content, better fracture resistance) than conventional uncoated diamond particles. Despite the metallurgical bonding, the coating cohesion strength was not improved, with the limiting factor likely being insufficient cohesion of the core-shelled diamonds.

Cold Spray(CS) is an emerging process, attracting much interest both as a coating and additive technique due to its solid-state nature and high deposition rates. The key element of any CS apparatus is the supersonic nozzle. The work presented here, for the first time, will explore in detail the relationship between particle flow, and its acceleration in the nozzle using Computational Fluid Dynamics and experimental measurements obtained with a Particle Tracking Velocimetry apparatus. We have developed modelling parameters capable to accurately predict the particle flow exit speed and space distribution, leading to considerably improved nozzle performances.

Technological progress in hybrid bearings developed high wear and abrasion resistant materials for rolling elements. The manufacturing process of bearing balls presents new challenges, as nowadays, it requires time-consuming and costly processes. In this frame, the bearing manufacturing industry is demanding improvements in materials, geometry, and processes. This work aims to investigate new abrasive coatings for grinding wheels for Si3N4 ball manufacturing. Tribological pin on disk tests are performed on samples of grinding materials (disk) versus a Si3N4 ball (pin). Two samples of specimens coated with an electrodeposited diamond and diamond-reinforced metal matrix composite are examined to measure the abrasion rate and the wear resistance of Silicon Nitride Si3N4 balls, considering the influence of sliding speed and the effect of coating deposition on diamond particle density and granulometry. The measurements estimated the specific wear coefficient k, the height wear surface h, and the wear rate u of the Si3N4 balls. The results pointed out that by increasing the sliding speed, the abraded volume increases for both the coatings. The parameters affecting the abrasion effectiveness of both the coatings are the surface roughness, the abrasive particle dimension, and the sliding speed.

Cold spray is a solid-state metal deposition and additive manufacturing (AM) technology. The low processing temperatures in cold spraying result in less favorable properties of the deposits as compared to their fusion-based AM counterparts, particularly for materials with high strength such as 316L stainless steel. Therefore, annealing is generally required for the cold sprayed deposits to improve their mechanical properties. In this paper, three different annealing strategies are systematically investigated in order to optimize the microstructure and mechanical properties of cold sprayed 316L stainless steel deposits: air annealing, vacuum annealing, and hot isostatic pressing (HIP), the latter representing a method widely used for densification of components in fusion-based metal AM. The results indicate that the three annealing treatments improve the mechanical properties of the cold sprayed 316L stainless steel deposits through grain recrystallization and diffusion at oxide-free inter-particle interfaces. Such improvement is less pronounced for the air annealing as a formation of oxide inclusions impedes full inter-particle metallurgical bonding. This effect is suppressed in the vacuum annealing, resulting in a significant improvement in the tensile strength and ductility. Despite the significant improvement in the deposits' density, the HIP results in mechanical properties equivalent to those after vacuum annealing. The experimental results suggest that the strengthening of cold sprayed deposits is mainly dominated by the improved inter-particle bonding and particle grain structure rather than through a reduction of porosity.

This research presents the results of an investigation into the additive manufacture of reflective Al coatings using cold spray (CS). This work is the first time that CS technology has been used to fabricate highly reflective surfaces. The coatings were characterised with respect to total reflectivity within the wavelength range of 400–1800 nm, surface roughness, particle deformation levels, and density. The experimental results indicate that raising the gas heating temperature increased the porosity and that the lowest gas heating temperature delivered the highest spectrally average reflectivity of 93.4% which was within 1% of bulk Al. This investigation demonstrates that CS can be used to coat thin layers of Al onto various materials, which can be subsequently polished to create composite reflectors. Hence, a reflector with the reflectivity of Al and the structural and thermal properties of the substrate material can be fabricated, allowing for greater design flexibility and the rapid manufacture of multi-material reflectors.

Ultrasonic surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) was employed to modify the surface microstructural layer of SLM Ti6Al4V ELI biomedical material to improve the fatigue performance. The SMAT method can introduce a nanostructured layer in the SLM sample surface by imposing high-strain-rate plastic deformation. The nanostructured layer improves the mechanical strength of the SMAT-affected zone and induces compressive residual stress parallel with the surface which suppress the initiation of cracks. As a result, the specimen after SMAT exhibits significantly higher fatigue strength than the non-treated sample in both low- and high-cycling regime.

This study presents an evaluation of the effects of pore diameter and porosity on the mechanical properties and biocompatibility of Ti6Al4V ELI periodic lattice structures, fabricated using SLM technology. Lattice structures of titanium alloys are in high demand for biomedical applications and are particularly useful as bone substitutes. A series of lattice structures with pore diameters of 500, 600, and 700 μm and porosities of 60% and 70% were designed by repeating an octahedral unit cell. Based on SEM and micro-CT observations, good morphological agreement was detected between the original designs and the SLM-produced structures. Microstructural analysis using TEM showed that the typically acicular α′ martensitic microstructure was obtained in the strut, which contributes to the brittle behavior of the lattice structure. Uniaxial compression tests were conducted, and the deformation behavior was recorded using a digital camera. Finite element analysis (FEA) of compression process was also conducted to enhance the understanding of the deformation mechanism. The surface chemistry of the lattice structure was analyzed using XPS methodology. The cytocompatibility of the lattice was also investigated with an in vitro test. The results show that the lattice structures with biocompatible surfaces have a comparable compressive strength (71–190 MPa) and elastic modulus (2.1–4.7 GPa) to trabecular bone.

This work details new insights into the in-process densification mechanism of cold spray Al coatings. The results show a trend counter to common observations: coating plastic deformation levels and coating density decreases with an increase in particle impact velocity. A lower particle impact velocity and the consequent lower deposition efficiency (DE) results in greater tamping energy per unit volume of deposit, which is the primary reason for the observed trend. This is the first time that DE has been shown to have a non-linear impact on the density of a cold spray coating, with particle in-process tamping being the primary mechanism for coating densification.