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This study reports the variability of the fatigue strength of specimens manufactured by the laser powder bed fusion process with respect to their location on the build plate. Specimens from the right-hand and left-hand halves of the build plate were tested under high cycle fatigue. Comparison of the fatigue data suggests that the specimens manufactured on the right-hand half of the build plate have a higher fatigue strength than those manufactured on the left-hand half. One reason for the observed discrepancy in fatigue strength was the higher accumulation of spattered powder particles on the left-hand side as compared to the right-hand side of the build plate. These spattered particles are oxidised, and form defects such as inclusions within the specimen. © 2021 The Author(s)

Additive manufacturing (AM) brings the possibility to produce tools with a complex design of the cooling channels to achieve desired properties in the working piece. However, AM of tool steels can be challenging due to the residual stresses and crack formation which may be mitigated by optimizing process parameters. In this study, process parameters development in the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) of a martensitic hot work tool steel was under investigation. Having power, scanning speed and hatch distance as variables, a design of experiment was performed to map a process window to produce dense components. In addition, the same sets of process parameters were applied at different preheating temperatures to study and discuss the effect of three preheating temperatures on the porosity, microstructure and hardness of the manufactured components. The characterization of the parts was done using optical and scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and micro-hardness test. The results showed that the martensitic hot work tool steel can be manufactured with L-PBF with high densities above 99.95%. © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The microstructure response of laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF)-processed ferritic stainless steel (AISI 441) during post-heat treatments is studied in detail. Focus is on the precipitation kinetics of the Nb-rich phases: Laves (Fe2Nb) and the cubic carbo-nitride (NbC), as well as the grain structure evolution. The evolution of the precipitates is characterized using scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) and the experimental results are used to calibrate precipitation kinetics simulations using the precipitation module (TC-PRISMA) within the Thermo-Calc Software package. The calculations reproduce the main trend for both the mean radii for the Laves phase and the NbC, and the amount of Laves phase, as a function of temperature. The calibrated model can be used to optimize the post-heat treatment of additively manufactured ferritic stainless steel components and offer a creator tool for process and structure linkages in an integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) framework for alloy and process development of additively manufactured ferritic steels., QC 20230308

In this study,microstructure and mechanical characterization of as-built Hastelloy X (HX) samples produced by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process and post-heat-treated samples were investigated. Two sets of samples, horizontal and vertical to build direction, were considered in as-built condition to understand the effect of build direction and two solution heat-treatment temperatures, 1177°C and 1220°C, followed by fast cooling were considered to study the effect of solution heat-treatment temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties. Microstructure characterization of as-built sample horizontal to build direction revealed a typical multi-layer molten pool boundaries and the sample vertical to build direction revealed multi-layered and multi-tracked molten pool boundaries. Electron backscatter diffraction results reveal a disrupted epitaxial grain growth for the as-built samples vertical to build direction whereas equiaxed grain structure with varying twin grain boundary fractions was observed for heat-treated HX samples. As-built LPBF HX samples exhibit higher mean hardness and yield strength than post-heat-treated samples. Higher elongation and lower yield strength were observed for the sample solution treated at 1220°C as compared to the sample solution annealed at 1177°C. Microstructural evolution at 20% engineering strain for the exact positions before the tensile test was presented for solution treated at 1220°C samples, which reveals distinct slip lines within each grain as well as increased dislocation density at grain boundaries. © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The crystallization behaviour during low temperature annealing of samples of the Zr59.3Cu28.8Al10.4Nb1.5 (at%) bulk metallic glass produced by suction casting and the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process were studied with small angle neutron scattering (SANS), X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The in-situ SANS measurements during isothermal annealing reveals that the phase separation in the LPBF processed material proceeds at a smaller characteristic length-scale than the cast material. Quantitative analysis of the SANS data shows that, while the crystallization process in both materials proceed through rapid nucleation followed by diffusion limited growth, the LPBF processed material crystallizes with a smaller cluster size and at a higher rate. The smaller cluster size is attributed to the elevated oxygen content in the LPBF processed material which reduces the nucleation barrier and thus the thermal stability.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is an attractive manufacturing technology in tooling applications. It provides unique opportunities to manufacture tools with complex shapes, containing inner channels for conformal cooling. In this investigation, H13, a widely used tool steel, was manufactured using a laser powder bed fusion method. Microstructure, tensile mechanical properties, hardness, and porosity of the AM H13 after stress relieve (SR), standard hardening and tempering (SR + HT), and hot isostatic pressing (SR + HIP + HT) were investigated. It was found that the microstructure of directly solidified colonies of prior austenite, which is typical for AM, disappeared after austenitizing at the hardening heat treatment. In specimens SR + HT and SR + HIP + HT, a microstructure similar to the conventional but finer was observed. Electron microscopy showed that SR and SR + HT specimens contained lack of fusion, and spherical gas porosity, which resulted in remarkable scatter in the observed elongation to break values. Application of HIP resulted in the highest strength values, higher than those observed for conventional H13 heat treated in the same way. The conclusion is that HIP promotes reduction of porosity and lack of fusion defects and can be efficiently used to improve the mechanical properties of AM H13 tool steel.

The influence of a stress-relief treatment on impact and fatigue properties of Ti6Al4V ELI samples manufactured by laser powder bed fusion was analyzed. The heat treatment resulted in removal of residual stresses, coarsening of needles and formation of precipitations between needles. In both, impact and fatigue tests, crack development was correlated to microstructural features. Fracture analysis was carried out by means of optical and electron microscopy to reveal the influence of microstructure on crack development. Ductile fracture was the dominating fracture mode at impact testing. Pore formation and coalescence were the main crack formation mechanisms. The microstructural changes led to a decrease in impact toughness after heat treatment. Presumably, this was a result of the precipitations between needles. Fatigue results showed multiple crack nucleation at the surface in both, as-built and stress-relieved material. The crack propagation rate was slightly higher and the crack was less deflected in the stress-relieved material due to the stress relief and coarsening of the microstructure.

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) provides an excellent opportunity to use custom powders for complex objects without extensive machining. This opportunity is attractive for brittle and hard intermetallics, but is challenging due to cracking, anisotropy, and the formation of non-equilibrium phases. The present investigation is focused on a development of the process parameters for pre-alloyed Mn-46 at.%Al gas atomized intermetallic powder, which is a promising magnetic material. A hierarchical approach involving optimization of the process parameters for a single track, a single layer, and then a 3D specimen was applied. The manufacturing of single tracks was performed at scanning speeds of 0.06-3.4 m/s and laser powers of 50-350 W. Test parameters guaranteeing stable single track with constant width and height, and sufficient remelting depth were selected for further manufacturing. Surface morphology, chemical composition, crack density and distribution, and the microstructures in the final materials were investigated. It was shown that the consists mostly of the ε-phase with some amounts of equilibrium γ2 and β phases and the ferromagnetic τ-phase. The presence of the ε-phase shows a potential to use heat treatment to form τ-phase magnetic phase in AM Mn-46 at.%Al. Future investigations will clarify the applicability of LPBF to manufacture Mn-46%Al for magnetic applications.

This article deals with the understanding of the influence of surface topography on fatigue behavior of Ti6Al4V alloy specimens produced by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). The same laser parameters and scan strategy were used for all specimens, giving a sample density higher than 99.5 %. Two different surface topographies were obtained by using the top and side surfaces of the specimens. The surface topography and morphology were investigated by optical surface profilometry and focus variation microscopy. Four-point bending fatigue test was performed on specimens with top and side surfaces as the highest stressed surface respectively. Machined specimens were used as reference. The features of the fracture surface, such as crack initiation and propagation, were analyzed by focus variation and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Both, fatigue results and fracture surface investigations, were correlated and discussed in relation to surface topography and microstructure, as well as manufacturing parameters.