Strengthening additively manufactured Inconel 718 through in-situ formation of nanocarbides and silicides

Emre Tekoğlu, Alexander D. O'Brien, Jian Liu, Baoming Wang, Sina Kavak, Yong Zhang, So Yeon Kim, Shitong Wang, Duygu Ağaoğulları, Wen Chen*, A. John Hart, Ju Li*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We report additive manufacturing (AM) of a nickel superalloy metallic matrix composite (Ni-MMC) using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). Nanoceramic-containing composite powders were prepared by high-speed blender declustering and ball milling of as-received SiC nanowires (2 vol%) and Inconel 718 alloy powders, which produced a homogeneous decoration of SiC on the surfaces of Inconel particles. Analysis of the as-printed specimens revealed the dissolution of SiC nanowires during laser melting, leading to the in-situ formation of Nb- and Ti-based silicide and carbide nanoparticles. These in-situ formed nanoparticles resulted in a more desirable solidification microstructure of the AM Inconel 718 with fewer printing defects (cracks and pores) and slightly refined grain sizes. Mechanical characterization of the as-printed Ni-MMCs revealed notable increases in hardness, yield strength (by 16%), and ultimate tensile strength (σUTS, by 12%) compared to the reference samples without SiC addition. After heat treatment, the same composite samples displayed a 10% higher σUTS compared to identically treated unreinforced material while maintaining ∼14% total tensile elongation. We believe this in-situ precipitate formation presents a simple and effective method for strengthening additively manufactured high-temperature materials that could be used in the increasingly harsh environments in energy and propulsion applications.

Original languageEnglish
Article number103478
JournalAdditive Manufacturing
Volume67
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Apr 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023

Funding

This work was supported by Eni S.p.A. through the MIT Energy Initiative, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) under Grant No. 1059B192000941 , and ARPA-E ( DE-AR0001434 ). WC acknowledges support by the National Science Foundation ( DMR-2004429 ). ADO acknowledges support by NSF GRFP Award #4999143677 . SK and DA acknowledge the support by Istanbul Technical University Scientific Research Projects Unit with a project (No: MUA-2021–43196 ) entitled "Production and Characterization of Boron Containing Metallic Nanocomposites via Additive Manufacturing".

FundersFunder number
Eni S.p.A.
MIT Energy Initiative
National Science FoundationDMR-2004429, 4999143677
Advanced Research Projects Agency - EnergyDE-AR0001434
Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu1059B192000941
Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri Birimi, İstanbul Teknik ÜniversitesiMUA-2021–43196

    Keywords

    • Additive manufacturing
    • In-situ alloying
    • Laser powder bed fusion
    • Mechanical property
    • Ni-based superalloy

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