Naoki Takata

Bio: Naoki Takata is an academic researcher from Nagoya University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Alloy & Microstructure. The author has an hindex of 21, co-authored 121 publications receiving 1684 citations. Previous affiliations of Naoki Takata include Honda & Osaka University.

Change in microstructure of selectively laser melted AlSi10Mg alloy with heat treatments

Abstract: In the present study, we examined changes in the microstructure and mechanical properties of AlSi10Mg alloy, initially fabricated using selective laser melting (SLM) combined with a powder-bed system, by applying heat treatments at temperatures of either 300 or 530 °C. The as-fabricated samples exhibited a characteristic microstructural morphology and {001} texture. Melt pools corresponding to the locally melted and rapidly solidified regions were found to be composed of several columnar α-Al grains surrounded by fine eutectic Si particles. A fine dislocation substructure consisting of low-angle boundaries is present within the columnar α-Al grains. At elevated temperatures, fine Si phase precipitates within the columnar α-Al phase and coarsening of the eutectic Si particles occurs. These fine Si particles inhibit grain growth in the α-Al matrix, resulting in the microstructural morphology and [001] texture observed in the heat-treated samples. The dislocation substructure disappears in the columnar α-Al grains. Furthermore, the formation of a stable intermetallic phase occurs, reaching microstructural equilibrium after long-term exposure. The as-fabricated specimen exhibits a high tensile strength of approximately 480 MPa. The strength is independent of the tensile direction, that is, normal and parallel to the building direction. In contrast, the tensile ductility is found to be direction-dependent, and is therefore responsible for a fracture preferentially occurring at a melt pool boundary. The direction-dependence of the tensile ductility was not found in the specimen that had been heat-treated at 530 °C. The present results provide new insights into the control of the direction-dependence of the tensile properties of AlSi10Mg alloys fabricated by SLM.

Managing Both Strength and Ductility in Ultrafine Grained Steels

Abstract: Ultrafine grained (UFG) steels provide surprisingly high strength but sometimes show limited tensile ductility. In the present paper, systematic experimental results on mechanical properties of UFG steel with ferrite single phase are shown first. The limited tensile ductility of the UFG ferritic steel was due to very small uniform elongation, which was attributed to the early plastic instability in the UFG microstructures. This basic understanding suggested a way to overcome the low tensile ductility: if the strain-hardening of the matrix is enhanced by any means, both high strength and adequate ductility can be managed even in UFG structures. Actual examples of the UFG steels that could achieve good strength-ductility balance are also presented. Dispersing fine carbides within the UFG ferrite matrix, and making the UFG dual-phase structure composed of ferrite and martensite were both effective to manage high strength and large uniform elongation. It was clearly shown that the future studies on the UFG steels from practical viewpoint should be directed to make the UFG structures multi-phased.

Steels in additive manufacturing: A review of their microstructure and properties

Abstract: Today, a large number of different steels are being processed by Additive Manufacturing (AM) methods. The different matrix microstructure components and phases (austenite, ferrite, martensite) and the various precipitation phases (intermetallic precipitates, carbides) lend a huge variability in microstructure and properties to this class of alloys. This is true for AM-produced steels just as it is for conventionally-produced steels. However, steels are subjected during AM processing to time-temperature profiles which are very different from the ones encountered in conventional process routes, and hence the resulting microstructures differ strongly as well. This includes a very fine and highly morphologically and crystallographically textured microstructure as a result of high solidification rates as well as non-equilibrium phases in the as-processed state. Such a microstructure, in turn, necessitates additional or adapted post-AM heat treatments and alloy design adjustments. In this review, we give an overview over the different kinds of steels in use in fusion-based AM processes and present their microstructures, their mechanical and corrosion properties, their heat treatments and their intended applications. This includes austenitic, duplex, martensitic and precipitation-hardening stainless steels, TRIP/TWIP steels, maraging and carbon-bearing tool steels and ODS steels. We identify areas with missing information in the literature and assess which properties of AM steels exceed those of conventionally-produced ones, or, conversely, which properties fall behind. We close our review with a short summary of iron-base alloys with functional properties and their application perspectives in Additive Manufacturing.