Abstract
The development of additive manufacturing, or three-dimensional (3D) printing, technologies has produced breakthroughs in the design and manufacturing of products by enhancing design freedom and minimising manufacturing steps. In addition, the complex, unique microstructures imparted by the additive processes offer prospects of unprecedented advances to produce high-performance metal alloys for high-temperature and corrosive environments. Here, we present the first additive manufacturing of Inconel alloy 725, an advanced nickel-base superalloy that is the widely accepted gold standard material of choice for oil and gas, chemical, and marine applications. We explore the printability of Inconel alloy 725 and identify a wide processing space to build material with a crack- and near-pore-free microstructure. The conventionally heat-treated Inconel alloy 725 has an equiaxed, near-fully recrystallised microstructure containing copious twin boundaries and nano-precipitates. It also displays promising tensile properties and corrosion resistance compared to its wrought counterpart. Our work opens the door toward additive manufacturing of Inconel alloy 725 components with optimised microstructure and topology geometry for applications in harsh environments.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 112454 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Materials Characterization |
| Volume | 194 |
| Early online date | 4 Nov 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Acknowledgments:This research was funded by the Ministry of Education of Singapore, Official Number: MOE2017-T2-2-119. We would like to acknowledge the Facility for Analysis, Characterisation, Testing and Simulation, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, for use of their electron microscopy.
Keywords
- Additive manufacturing
- 3D printing
- Powder bed fusion
- Superalloy
- Inconel 725
- Microstructure
- Tensile properties
- Corrosion properties
