Showing papers on "Laves phase published in 2020"

Laves phase control of inconel 718 superalloy fabricated by laser direct energy deposition via δ aging and solution treatment

Abstract: In order to achieve the microstructure homogeneity at a lower temperature and improve the mechanical properties, a novel post heat treatment was introduced to Inconel 718 fabricated by laser direct energy deposition (LDED), by means of δ aging treatment + solution treatment. The microstructure analysis shows that the fully precipitation of δ phase in LDED Inconel 718 superalloy can “cut” the long strip Laves phase into small pieces. According with the δ phase solution treated at 1020 °C for 30 min, only tiny particle Laves phase was remained. The equilibrium volume fraction of Laves phase after δ phase solution treatment is about 1%, which is much lower than that of the as-deposited sample or the sample only solution treated at 1020 °C. Due to the solution strengthening and precipitation of γ″ phase during aging treatment, the tensile strength of δ aging + δ solution + double aging treated samples was 10.27% higher than that of directed solution + double aging treated samples, as well as a 31.38% and 52.71% increases in elongation and the reduction of area during tensile tests.

Influence of post-heat-treatment on the microstructure and fracture toughness properties of Inconel 718 fabricated with laser directed energy deposition additive manufacturing

Abstract: The influence of post-heat-treatment on the resulting microstructure and room-temperature fracture toughness ( K I C ) of Inconel 718 fabricated by laser solid forming (LSF), a kind of laser based directed-energy-deposition additive manufacturing technologies, is investigated. Detailed microstructure characterization was performed on as-fabricated and heat-treated samples using direct aging (DA), solution treatment plus aging (STA), homogenization plus STA (HSTA), respectively. The results indicate that as-fabricated sample mainly consists of γ columnar dendrites and a small quantity of (γ+Laves) eutectics in the interdendritic areas. After DA post-heat-treatment, the nonuniform γ′′/γ′ precipitates exist around Laves phases. After STA post-heat-treatment, the short-acicular δ-phases precipitate around/in the Laves phases, the micro-segregation reduces and the distribution of γ′′/γ′ precipitates in the dendrite arm is almost homogeneous. After HSTA post-heat-treatment, Laves phase mostly disappears, micro-segregation completely removes and the γ′′/γ′ precipitates (~30 nm) are distributed in bimodal recrystallized grains. The results of K I C testing indicate that as-fabricated sample possesses the lowest K I C mainly due to its lowest elastic modulus and yield strength. However, the K I C of DA sample (~89.8 MPa m ) is close to that of as-fabricated sample, mainly due to its low ductility and strain-hardening exponent. But, the K I C of STA and HSTA samples increases by ~55.8% and 90.8% compared with as-fabricated sample respectively, mainly because of the better performance in strength–plasticity of HSTA sample (~1114 MPa, ~26.1%). Particularly, the K I C of HSTA sample with bimodal grains is ~60 MPa m higher than the lower limit of wrought IN718 (AMS 5662) and reaches ~164.1 MPa m . There exists significant difference in the K I C fractographs of as-fabricated and heat-treated samples. Overall, this research illustrates that an appropriate post-heat-treatment possesses obvious toughening effect on the LSF Inconel 718 alloy.

The microstructure evolution and tensile properties of Inconel 718 fabricated by high-deposition-rate laser directed energy deposition

Abstract: In order to meet the requirements for rapid manufacturing of large-scale high-performance metal components, the unique advantages of high-deposition-rate laser directed energy deposition (HDR-LDED, deposition rate ≥ 1 kg/h) technology have been attracted great attention. HDR-LDED technology significantly improves the efficiency by simultaneously increasing the mass and energy input on basis of conventional laser directed energy deposition (C-LDED, deposition rate ≤ 0.3 kg/h), which dramatically changes the solidification condition and thermal cycling effect compared to C-LDED processes. Based on this, Inconel 718 bulk samples were fabricated with a deposition rate of 2.2 kg/h and a height of 75 mm. Through experimental observation combined with finite element simulation, the precipitation morphology, thermal cycling effect and tensile properties at room temperature of the block samples at heights of 6 mm (bottom region), 37 mm (middle region) and 69 mm (top region) from the substrate were investigated. The results show that both temperature interval and incubation time satisfy the precipitation conditions of the second phases because of the intense thermal cycling effect so that δ, γ" and γ' phase are precipitated in the bottom and middle region of the as-deposited sample during the HDR-LDED process. As a result, the micro-hardness and the yield strength of the bottom region (385 HV; 745.1 ± 5.2 MPa) are similar to those of the middle region (381 HV; 752.2 ± 12.1 MPa), respectively. And they are both higher than those of the top region (298 HV; 464.7 ± 44.2 MPa). The tensile fracture mechanism is shown in both fracture and debonding of the Laves phase. The inhomogeneous microstructures and corresponding mechanical property differences of Inconel 718 fabricated by HDR-LDED along the deposition direction suggest the necessity to conduct further research of the post heat treatment in the future.

Knowledge of process-structure-property relationships to engineer better heat treatments for laser powder bed fusion additive manufactured Inconel 718

Abstract: Dislocation structures, chemical segregation, γ′, γ″, δ precipitates, and Laves phase were quantified within the microstructures of Inconel 718 (IN718) produced by laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing (AM) and subjected to standard, direct aging, and modified multi-step heat treatments. Additionally, heat-treated samples still attached to the build plates vs. those removed were also documented for a standard heat treatment. The effects of the different resulting microstructures on room temperature strengths and elongations to failure are revealed. Knowledge derived from these process-structure-property relationships was used to engineer a super-solvus solution anneal at 1020 °C for 15 min, followed by aging at 720 °C for 24 h heat treatment for AM-IN718 that eliminates Laves and δ phases, preserves AM-specific dislocation cells that are shown to be stabilized by MC carbide particles, and precipitates dense γ′ and γ″ nanoparticle populations. This “optimized for AM-IN718 heat treatment” results in superior properties relative to wrought/additively manufactured, then industry-standard heat treated IN718: relative increases of 7/10 % in yield strength, 2/7 % in ultimate strength, and 23/57 % in elongation to failure are realized, respectively, regardless of as-printed vs. machined surface finishes.

Emergence of a C15 Laves Phase in Diblock Polymer/Homopolymer Blends

Abstract: The observation of complex, Frank-Kasper (FK) particle packings in diblock polymer melts has until recently been limited to low molecular weight, conformationally asymmetric polymers. We report tem...

Ideal type-III nodal-ring phonons

Abstract: Type-III nodal ring associated with a flat band without dispersion, whose nodes are the critical states between type-I and type-II Dirac/Weyl nodes, is of great interest. Here, we propose a strategy to explore and design materials that can realize the type-III nodal-ring phonons by introducing two-dimensional (2D) lattices with ideal flat band. As a concrete example, we show by first-principles calculations that the Laves phase $A{B}_{2}$ with $C14$ structure possesses ideal type-III nodal-ring phonons. The flat phonon band related to type-III nodal-ring phonons originates from their 2D triangular and kagome layers in the Laves phase $A{B}_{2}$. The type-III nodal-ring phonons with nontrivial Berry phase lie on a reflection-invariant plane, which are protected by the inversion and time-reversal symmetries. In addition, the drumhead surface states and unique surface arcs are clearly visible, which facilitate experimental observations. Our work enriches the classification of topological quantum phases, and provides a feasible strategy in designing flat-band related topological phases.

Investigation of dissolution behavior of laves phase in inconel 718 fabricated by laser directed energy deposition

Abstract: The mechanical properties of Inconel 718 are closely related to the morphology and size of the Laves phase, which must be quantitatively controlled to change the effect of the Laves phase from deleterious to beneficial. In this study, post-heat treatment was used to regulate the morphology and size of the Laves phase in Inconel 718 fabricated using laser directed energy deposition, and the dissolution behavior of the Laves phase during solution heat treatment was investigated. The results indicated that the sharp corners and grooves of the Laves phase preferentially dissolved, causing the morphology of the Laves phase to change from a long-striped to granular shape during dissolution. The dissolution kinetics of the Laves phase were also investigated using the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov and Singh–Flemings models. The initial stage of dissolution was controlled by both the long-range diffusion of Nb and the interfacial reaction. However, with decreasing degree of Nb segregation, the interfacial reaction became dominant.

The effect of subsequent heat treatment on the evolution behavior of second phase particles and mechanical properties of the Inconel 718 superalloy manufactured by selective laser melting

Abstract: In this work, the influence of subsequent heat treatment on the evolution behavior of Laves phase, δ phase and carbides, and mechanical properties were investigated systematically for the Inconel 718 superalloy manufactured by selective laser melting (SLM). Two different subsequent heat treatment schemes were employed for SLM manufactured Inconel 718 superalloy in our work: 980 °C * 1 h/AC + 720 °C * 8 h/FC to 620 °C * 8 h/AC (the standard heat treatment scheme, SA980) and 1080 °C * 1 h/AC + 720 °C * 8 h/FC to 620 °C * 8 h/AC (the optimized heat treatment scheme, SA1080). The results show that the δ phase can nucleate around the residual Laves phase, and then the composite phase particles are formed at the subgrain boundaries during SA980 heat treatment of SLM manufactured Inconel 718. Moreover, the entangled dislocations around these composite phase particles can promote the initiation of microcrack during the tensile process at elevated temperature, leading to premature failure. On the other hand, two types of carbides were found to exist in the SA1080 heat-treated samples: the nanoscale TiC particles along subgrain boundaries originally formed during the SLM process, and the large-size NbC particles along the grain boundaries formed during the solution heat treatment process. The heat treatment schemes of SA1080 can achieve excellent combination of strength and elongation at room temperature and elevated temperature, which is more suitable for the subsequent heat treatment of SLM manufactured IN718.

Influence of Homogenization and Solution Treatments Time on the Microstructure and Hardness of Inconel 718 Fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process.

Abstract: In the present study, Inconel 718 (IN718) superalloy fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) has been characterized focusing on the effect of both homogenization and solution treatment time on grains structure, crystallographic texture, precipitates formation/dissolution and material hardness. For this purpose, a heat-treatment time window with a wide range of soaking times for both treatments was established aiming to develop the optimal post-treatment conditions for laser powder bed fused IN718. It was found that the as-printed IN718 is characterized by very fine columnar/cellular dendrites with Laves phase precipitating at the grain boundaries as well as inter-dendritic regions, which differs from the microstructure of wrought and cast materials and requires special heat-treatment conditions different from the standard treatments. The results reveal that the relatively short homogenization treatment at 1080 °C for 1 h was not enough to significantly change the as-printed grain structure and completely dissolve the segregates and Laves phase. However, a completely recrystallized IN718 material and more Laves phase dissolution were obtained after homogenization treatment for 4 h. A further increase in time of the homogenization treatment (7 h) resulted in grain growth and coarsening of carbides precipitates. The solution treatment time at 980 °C did not cause noticeable changes in the crystallographic texture and grain structure. Nevertheless, the amount of δ-phase precipitation was significantly affected by the solution treatment time. After applying the heat-treatment time window, the hardness increased by 51–72% of the as-printed condition depending on the treatment time due to the formation of γ′ and γ″ in the γ-matrix. The highest material hardness was obtained after 1 h homogenization, whereas the prolonged time treatments reduced the hardness. This study provides a comprehensive investigation of the post heat-treatments of the laser powder bed fused IN718 that can result in an optimized microstructure and mechanical behavior for particular applications.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of CoCrFeNiMo high-entropy alloy coatings

Abstract: The CoCrFeNiMo coatings were prepared by laser cladding on 45 steel surface. The microstructure, hardness and wear resistance of CoCrFeNiMo high-entropy alloy were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometer, hardness tester and wear tester. The effect of laser scanning speed on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the coating was studied. Experimental results show that the coating and matrix combines well, the microstructure of the coatings is mainly composed of equiaxed grains. The phase structure of the coating is mainly composed of face-centered cubic (FCC) structure, body-centered cubic (BCC) structure and Laves phase. There is a slight segregation of Mo element. The CoCrFeNiMo coating has high hardness, the highest surface hardness is 741 HV. Fine-grained strengthening, BCC structure and Laves phase provided a guarantee for the excellent wear resistance of the coating. With the increase of scanning speed, the structure is refined, the hardness is improved and the wear resistance is enhanced.

Heterogeneous precipitation mediated heterogeneous nanostructure enhances strength-ductility synergy in severely cryo-rolled and annealed CoCrFeNi 2.1 Nb 0.2 high entropy alloy

Abstract: Possibilities of enhancing mechanical properties of brittle intermetallic containing high entropy alloys (HEAs) using novel processing and microstructural design strategies were investigated in the present work. For this purpose, homogenized CoCrFeNi2.1Nb0.2 HEA consisting of FCC matrix and complex Laves phase particles was successfully processed by severe cold- or cryo-rolling to 90% reduction in thickness followed by annealing (800 °C/1 hour(h)). As compared to cold-rolling, cryo-rolling resulted in a finer lamellar nanostructure and decidedly greater fragmentation of the Laves phase. Upon annealing, the cold-rolled HEA showed a recrystallized FCC matrix dispersed with D019 structured e nano-precipitates. In contrast, the finer nanostructure and greater driving force for accelerated precipitation of profuse nano-precipitates at the early stages of annealing inhibited recrystallization in the cryo-rolled HEA and resulted in the formation of heterogeneous microstructure consisting of retained deformed and recrystallized regions. The novel heterogeneous microstructure of the cryo-rolled and annealed HEA resulted in a remarkable enhancement in strength-ductility synergy. The present results indicated that cryo-rolling could be used as an innovative processing strategy for tailoring heterogeneous microstructure and achieving novel mechanical properties.

Microstructure characteristics and mechanical behaviour of a selective laser melted Inconel 718 alloy

Abstract: In this study, an Inconel 718 alloy was prepared by selective laser melting (SLM) with a pre-alloyed powder, and the microstructure and mechanical behaviour of the fabricated parts were studied. First, the settled layer structure, composed of several interlaced "perlage" molten pools and molten channels, was captured by low-magnification optical microscopy (OM), and the formation mechanism was revealed by the Gaussian heat source distribution characteristics of the laser source used for the SLM fabrication. Second, high-magnification scanning electron microscopy (SEM) captured the different crystal structures in different fabricated positions; meanwhile, the "cross-border growth phenomenon" along the forming direction and the "growth and distribution characteristics of the crystal" in the radial direction (perpendicular to the forming direction) were also captured. By introducing the component super-cooling theory, the growth mechanism of crystal structures in different positions under a multi-dimensional temperature gradient heat conduction coupling mode is proposed. Finally, combined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and a mechanical properties test, it was found that the mechanical properties were between those of parts fabricated by casting and those by forging because the γ" phase and γ' phase were distributed in the crystal, while the carbide phase and Laves phase were distributed in the intercrystal region.

Phase constitution, microstructure and properties of pulsed laser-clad ternary CrNiTi medium-entropy alloy coating on pure titanium

Abstract: A ternary CrNiTi medium-entropy alloy (MEA) coating with excellent surface performance (hardness and wear resistance) was successfully prepared on pure Ti sheet by pulsed laser cladding. Microstructural characteristics of the MEA coating were probed by combined use of multiple characterization techniques and reasons for the formation mechanisms of various phases in the coating were well explored. Results show that fine cellular grains are formed in the MEA coating during the ultrafast non-equilibrium solidification process induced by pulsed laser cladding. These grains have an average size less than 1 μm and correspond to a BCC solid-solution phase. There appears irregular-shaped Cr2Ti Laves phase (C14-type) inside most of the cellular grains, while intergranular structures are demonstrated to be NiTi intermetallics. Hardness tests reveal that the CrNiTi MEA coating has a hardness of 940 ± 35 HV which is ~8 times that of the pure Ti substrate (119 ± 9 HV). Also compared to the pure Ti substrate, a much lower wear rate is noted for the coating demonstrating greatly improved wear resistance. Comprehensive analyses show that the excellent surface performance of the CrNiTi MEA coating can be ascribed to combined contributions from the solid-solution hardening and grain refinement hardening of the BCC phase, as well as second phase hardening produced by Cr2Ti Laves phase and NiTi intermetallics.