Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Steel melting'

Carbon dioxide emissions must be dramatically reduced to avoid the potentially dangerous effects of climate change. The steel and aluminium industries produce large amounts of carbon dioxide, accounting for 6% of anthropogenic emissions. Previous studies have shown that in these industries there is limited scope for further improvements in energy efficiency. Material efficiency strategies can, however, further reduce emissions. This thesis focuses on materially efficient reuse without melting. A scoping study of current reuse found three opportunities, an examination of which forms the basis of this thesis: reusing components at end of product life; extending the lifespan of products; and reusing manufacturing scrap. The opportunity to reuse components has received little attention to date and there is no clearly defined set of strategies or barriers to enable assessment of appropriate component reuse; neither is it possible to predict future levels of reuse. This thesis presents a global assessment of the potential for reusing steel and aluminium components. A combination of top-down and bottom-up analyses is used to allocate the final destinations of current global steel and aluminium production to final products. A substantial catalogue has been compiled for these products characterizing key features of steel and aluminium components including design specifications, requirements in use, and current reuse patterns. To estimate the fraction of end-of-life metal components that could be reused for each product, the catalogue formed the basis of a set of semi-structured interviews with industrial experts. The results suggest that approximately 30% of steel and aluminium used in current products could be reused. Barriers against reuse are examined, prompting recommendations for redesign that would facilitate future reuse. In order to understand how product lifespans can be extended it must first be understood why products are replaced. A simple framework with which to analyse failure is applied to the products that dominate steel use, finding that they are often replaced because a component/sub-assembly becomes degraded, inferior, unsuitable or worthless. In light of this, four products, which are representative of high steel content products in general, are analysed at the component level, determining profiles of cumulative steel mass over the lifespan of each product. The results show that the majority of the steel components are underexploited – still functioning when the product is discarded. In particular, the potential lifespan of the steel-rich structure is typically much greater than its actual lifespan. Evidence from twelve case studies, in which product or component life has been increased, is used to tailor life-extension strategies to each reason for product failure, providing practical guidelines for designers. There is currently no commercial method of reusing small manufacturing scrap; however, previous research has demonstrated that extruded profiles can be created from small clean aluminium scrap, the scrap fragments solid-state welding together when extruded. In order to evaluate potential applications for these profiles four case studies are conducted in collaboration with aluminium producers and product manufacturers. It was found that strong and formable profiles could be produced from scrap. However, contaminated scrap sources, unreliable bonding and poor surface quality limited their potential for commercial use. No model exists for solid-state weld strength that is applicable to scrap extrusion. This prevents optimisation of the existing extrusion process and the development of new, potentially better, processes. Subsequently, this thesis presents a new model of weld strength as a function of relevant deformation parameters. The model is evaluated using a new experiment in which the deformation conditions can be varied independently. The experiments establish the basic relationships between deformation parameters and weld strength. The model correctly predicts these trends with predicted weld strengths typically lying within the experimental error range. The technical assessment of reuse presented in this thesis demonstrates the scope of potential change. If implemented, the opportunities presented would greatly increase the reuse of steel and aluminium, reducing the emissions emitted from liquid metal production in conventional recycling.

A new method of incipient melting temperature (IMT) detection, continuous heating and fracture (CHF) method, has been developed in which a constant strain rate tensile or torsion deformation is applied to a specimen whose temperature is simultaneously increased. The IMT is determined in a single test and any phase transformations before the IMT will also be detected by the effects on the stress vs. strain behavior in the same experiment. This method also provides information about the effect of phase transformation and temperature on the mechanical behaviour of steel near the incipient melting temperature.
By means of such tests, the incipient melting behaviour of a series of steels with carbon levels from 0.031 to 0.45 wt% was examined. For the steels containing 0.08-0.097%C and about 1.5%Mn, it was found that incipient melting occurs in the two phase ($ gamma$+$ delta$) region in the temperature range from 1470-1480$ sp circ$C, and is significantly influenced by microalloying elements. In the ultra-low carbon steel (0.031%C), the IMT is in the single phase $ delta$ region at 1495 $ sp circ$C, and for the medium carbon steels containing 0.3-0.42%C (hyper-peritectic) it is in the $ gamma$ single phase in the temperature range of 1401-1414$ sp circ$C. Comparison between the IMT obtained from CHF testing and the solidus temperature calculated from K-O model showed that these two values are extremely close. Since there is no nucleation barrier for melting, it seems that the CHF testing can delineate the solidus temperature in steel. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a technology that inverts the procedure of traditional machining. Instead of starting with a billet of material and removing unwanted parts, the AM manufacturing process starts with an empty workspace and proceeds to fill this workspace with material where it is desired, often in a layer-by-layer fashion. Materials available for AM processing include polymers, concrete, metals, ceramics, paper, photopolymers, and resins. This thesis is concerned with electron beam melting (EBM), which is a powder bed fusion technology that uses an electron beam to selectively melt a feedstock of fine powder to form geometries based on a computer-aided design file input. There are significant differences between EBM and conventional machining. Apart from the process differences, the ability to manufacture extremely complex parts almost as easily as a square block of material gives engineers the freedom to disregard complexity as a cost-driving factor. The engineering benefits of AM also include manufacturing geometries which were previously almost impossible, such as curved internal channels and complex lattice structures. Lattices are lightweight structures comprising a network of thin beams built up by multiplication of a three-dimensional template cell, or unit cell. By altering the dimensions and type of the unit cell, one can tailor the properties of the lattice to give it the desired behavior. Lattices can be made stiff or elastic, brittle or ductile, and even anisotropic, with different properties in different directions. This thesis focuses on alleviating one of the problems with EBM and AM, namely the relatively few materials available for processing. The method is to take a closer look at the widely used stainless steel 316LN, and investigate the possibility of processing 316LN powder via the EBM process into both lattices and solid material. The results show that 316LN is suitable for EBM processing, and a processing window is presented. The results also show that some additional work is needed to optimize the process parameters for increased tensile strength if the EBM-processed material is to match the yield strength of additively laser-processed 316L material.

Vid tidpunkten för framläggningen av avhandlingen var följande delarbete opublicerat: delarbete 3 (inskickat).

At the time of the defence the following paper was unpublished: paper 3 (submitted).

Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steels contain a fine dispersion of nano-sized, typically Y based, oxide particles which result in the material displaying significantly better creep, irradiation and oxidation resistance when compared to conventional alloys. Thus, such materials are considered as candidate structural materials for a number of applications in the fossil and nuclear energy sectors and in other high-temperature applications. ODS steels are currently produced by powder metallurgy which includes mechanical alloying (MA) of master alloys or elemental powder, hot extrusion or hot isostatic pressing (HIP) followed by a final heat treatment. Recent studies revealed that Y added during MA in the form of yttria (Y2O3) breaks down and the elements go into supersaturated solution in the Fe matrix; and Y based dispersoids form during fabrication of the alloy. In this work, an additive manufacturing method, selective laser melting (SLM), was applied to as-MA ODS-PM2000 (Fe-19.0wt.%Cr-5.5Al-0.5Ti-0.5Y2O3) powder. SLM produces almost fully dense solid freeform components by successively melting thin layers of metal powder. In order to investigate the feasibility of SLM in an ODS alloy environment, a number of builds were fabricated. These included a complex thin walled structure, coatings on Inconel IN939 (Ni-22.5wt.%Cr-19.0Co-3.7Ti-2W-1.9Al-1.0Nb-1.4Ta-0.15C), a nickel based superalloy, and optimised wall and solid builds. A wide range of microstructural and mechanical characterisation techniques were carried out on these builds with the focus to study the fundamentals of SLM in ODS environment. The most important finding of this work was that a fine homogeneous dispersion of globular shaped nanoscopic particulates could be retained in the SLM build configurations investigated. Indications were found that there is a very low number of dispersoids in the deposited layer after it was put down. Repeated heating cycles during SLM deposition of further slices resulted in coarsening and growth of existing precipitates, but probably also in nucleation and growth of new dispersoids in the α-Fe matrix. Such heating cycles and post-build annealing trials resulted in modification of initially multiphased dispersoid compounds including originally a number of elements, such as O, Al, Si, Ti, Cr, Fe and Y, into structures having significantly increased concentrations of Al and Y. After post-build annealing, the particles were most frequently of the compound type yttrium aluminium monoclinic, Y4Al2O9. SLM processing parameters were developed leading to a relative density of >99.5 % for wall builds having different thicknesses and of >98.5 % for solid builds. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was conducted and revealed a strong [001] fibre texture along the growth direction of a wall build. For annealed walls, values of the 0.2% offset yield strength YS0.2 up to those of recrystallized conventional produced PM2000 could be achieved. Fracture behaviour and the individual key parameters determined, YS0.2 and Young's modulus were anisotropic due to this texture. In coatings, Y-rich dispersoids could be retained. When oxidised isothermally in laboratory air at 1100°, the SLM deposit PM2000 formed a mainly α-Al2O3 (alumina) scale, which was similar to conventionally fabricated PM2000. Oxidation at 870°C, however, resulted in different scale morphologies between both variants. Those were Al-rich equiaxed structures and nodules and Ti-rich needles for conventional PM2000. On the other hand, the SLM material exhibited Al-rich platelet structures and Al-rich equiaxed crystals in pores. The observations of this work confirmed the feasibility of SLM in ODS alloy environment, which may motivate further studies in this field.

The continuous heating to fracture test (CHF) developed at McGill was used to study the effect of decarburization on the incipient melting temperature. In the CHF test, a sample was deformed at a constant true strain rate, while its temperature is increased at a constant rate. This test allows the incipient melting temperature to be determined using a single test, instead of the several required by isothermal tensile testing. An isothermal decarburization step, to create a decarburized layer at the surface of the sample, was added prior to the CHF test.
Analysis of the true stress vs temperature curves obtained by CHF testing allows the incipient melting temperature to be determined. Optical metallography was used to determine the effect of decarburization time on the observed depth of decarburization. The heat transfer characteristics of induction heating were studied, since this heating technique is known to create a significant temperature gradient at the surface of the piece being heated. Since the decarburized layer is in the high temperature zone, and also has a higher melting point due to its lower carbon content, it plays an important role in the melting process.
A phenomenological model was derived to describe the melting process. It allows for both the temperature gradient due to induction heating and the melting point gradient due to decarburization. The hypothesis is advanced that melting takes place at the position, within the sample, where the temperature profile crosses the incipient melting temperature gradient. From this study, it appears that decarburization acts so as to limit the risk of hot shortness on a workpiece being forged at high temperatures. This is because decarburization raises the IMT, and in this way widens the temperature window of optimum workability.

Unter den verschiedenen additiven Fertigungsverfahren stellt das selektive Laserschmelzen (SLM) eine optimale Technologie für die Herstellung von metallischen Bauteilen mit komplexen Geometrien und hervorragenden Eigenschaften dar. SLM-Bauteile werden Schicht für Schicht mit hochenergetischen Laserstrahlen hergestellt, was das SLM flexibler als konventionelle Produktionstechnologien wie das Gießen macht. Die beim SLM auftretenden schnellen Aufheiz-/Kühlraten können zu deutlich unterschiedlichen Gefügen im Vergleich zu herkömmlichen Herstellungsverfahren führen. Die beim SLM entstehenden Hochtemperaturgradienten können sich weiterhin positiv auf die Gefügeentstehung (Phasenbildung, Morphologie, …) und damit auf die mechanischen Eigenschaften der SLM-Bauteile auswirken. Darüber hinaus können die mit SLM gefertigten Teile mit der Notwendigkeit einer minimalen Nachbearbeitung in den Einsatz genommen werden. Bisher wurden mehrere Studien zu den Parametern: Optimierung oder Verarbeitung von Verbundwerkstoffen mit fehlerfreien Teilen durchgeführt Die Scanstrategie hat dabei einen besonders großen Einfluss bei der Materialbearbeitung durch die additive Fertigung. Die Optimierung der Scanstrategie ist daher von zentraler Bedeutung für die Synthese von Materialien mit verbesserten physikalischen und mechanischen Eigenschaften. Diese Arbeit untersucht die Wirkung von vier verschiedenen Scanning-Strategien auf das Gefüge und das mechanische Verhalten von 316L Edelstahl, synthetisiert durch selektives Laserschmelzen (SLM). Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Scanstrategie einen vernachlässigbaren Einfluss auf die Phasenbildung und die Art des Gefüges hat, die während der SLM-Verarbeitung entsteht: Austenit ist die einzige Phase, die sich bildet, und alle Proben weisen eine zelluläre Morphologie auf. Die Scanstrategie beeinflusst jedoch erheblich die charakteristische Größe von Zellen und Körnern, die wiederum der Hauptfaktor für die Festigkeit unter Zugbelastung zu sein scheint. Andererseits haben Eigenspannungen offenbar keinen Einfluss auf die quasi-statischen mechanischen Eigenschaften der Proben. Das mit einem Streifenmuster mit Konturstrategie hergestellte Material weist das feinste Gefüge und die beste Kombination mechanischer Eigenschaften auf: Streckgrenze und Bruchdehnung liegen bei 550 MPa und 1010 MPa und die plastische Verformung bei über 50 %. Ein weiterer wichtiger Aspekt für die Anwendung des mittels SLM synthetisierten 316L-Stahls ist seine thermische Stabilität. Daher wurde der Einfluss des Glühens bei verschiedenen Temperaturen (573, 873, 1273, 1373 und 1673 K) auf die Stabilität der Phasen, der Zusammensetzung und des Gefüges des 316L-Edelstahls untersucht, der unter Verwendung des Streifenmuster mit Konturstrategie hergestellt wurde. Darüber hinaus wurden die durch die Wärmebehandlung induzierten Veränderungen genutzt, um die entsprechenden Variationen der mechanischen Eigenschaften der Proben unter Zugbelastung zu verstehen. Das Glühen hat keinen Einfluss auf die Phasenbildung: Bei allen hier untersuchten Proben wird ein einphasiger Austenit beobachtet. Darüber hinaus ändert das Glühen nicht die zufällige kristallographische Orientierung, die im Material nach der Synthese beobachtet wird. Das komplexe zelluläre Gefüge mit feinen Subkornstrukturen, die für die as-SLM-Proben im Ausgangszustand charakteristisch sind, ist bis zu 873 K stabil. Die Zellgröße nimmt mit steigender Glühtemperatur zu, bis das zelluläre Gefüge bei hohen Temperaturen nicht mehr beobachtet werden kann (T ≥ 1273 K). Die Festigkeit der Proben nimmt mit steigender Glühtemperatur durch die mikrostrukturelle Vergröberung ab. Die ausgezeichnete Kombination von Festigkeit und Duktilität des Materials im Ausgangszustand ist auf das komplexe zelluläre Gefüge und die Subkörner sowie die Fehlausrichtung zwischen Körnern, Zellen, Zellwänden und Subkörnern zurückzuführen. Mit dem Ziel, das mechanische Verhalten des 316L-Stahls weiter zu verbessern, wird der Einfluss harter Partikel einer zweiten Phase auf das Gefüge und die damit verbundenen mechanischen Eigenschaften untersucht. Dazu wurde mittels SLM ein Verbund aus einer 316L-Stahlmatrix und 5 Vol.% CeO2-Partikeln hergestellt. Die SLM-Parameter, die zu einer fehlerfreien 316L-Matrix führen, sind für die Herstellung von 316L/CeO2-Verbundproben nicht geeignet. Hochdichte Verbundproben können jedoch durch sorgfältige Einstellung der Laserscangeschwindigkeit unter Beibehaltung der anderen Parameter prozessiert werden. Die Zugabe der CeO2-Verstärkung verändert die Phasenbildung nicht, beeinflusst aber das Gefüge des Verbundwerkstoffs, welches im Vergleich zum partikelfreien 316L-Material deutlich verfeinert ist. Das verfeinerte Gefüge bewirkt eine signifikante Verstärkung im Verbund, ohne die plastische Verformung zu beeinträchtigen. Die Analyse des Einflusses einer zweiten Phase wird fortgesetzt, indem untersucht wird, wie TiB2-Partikel das Gefüge und die mechanischen Eigenschaften eines 316L-Edelstahls beeinflussen, der durch selektives Laserschmelzen hergestellt wird. Das für die unverstärkte 316L-Matrix charakteristische komplexe zelluläre Gefüge mit feinen Subkörnern ist in allen Proben zu finden. Die Zugabe der TiB2-Partikel reduziert die Größe der Körner und Zellen erheblich. Darüber hinaus sind die TiB2-Partikel in der 316L-Matrix homogen dispergiert und bilden kreisförmige Ausscheidungen mit einer Größe von etwa 50-100 nm entlang der Korngrenzen. Diese mikrostrukturellen Merkmale führen zu einer signifikanten Verfestigung im Vergleich zu den unverstärkten 316L-Proben. Diese Ergebnisse belegen, dass SLM erfolgreich zur Synthese von Verbundwerkstoffen aus dem Edelstahl 316L mit herausragenden mechanischen Eigenschaften im Vergleich zu einer unverstärkten 316L-Stahlmatrix eingesetzt werden kann. Dies könnte dazu beitragen, den Einsatz von SLM bei der Herstellung von Stahlmatrix-Verbundwerkstoffen für die Automobilindustrie, die Luft- und Raumfahrt und zahlreiche andere Anwendungen zu erweitern.
Among the different additive manufacturing processes, selective laser melting (SLM) represents an optimal choice for the fabrication of metallic components with complex geometries and superior properties. SLM parts are built layer-by-layer using high-energy laser beams, making SLM more flexible than conventional processing techniques, like casting. The fast heating/cooling rates occurring during SLM can result in remarkably different microstructures compared with conventional manufacturing processes. The high-temperature gradients characterising SLM can also have a positive effect on the microstructures and, in turn, on the mechanical properties of the SLM parts. Additionally, the SLM parts can be put into use with the necessity of minimal post-processing treatments. To date, a number of studies have been devoted to the parameters optimization or processing of composite materials with defect-free parts. The scanning strategy is one of the most influential parameters in materials processing by additive manufacturing. Optimization of the scanning strategy is thus of primary importance for the synthesis of materials with enhanced physical and mechanical properties. Accordingly, this thesis examines the effect of four different scanning strategies on the microstructure and mechanical behaviour of 316L stainless steel synthesized by selective laser melting (SLM). The results indicate that the scanning strategy has negligible influence on phase formation and the type of microstructure established during SLM processing: austenite is the only phase formed and all specimens display a cellular morphology. The scanning strategy, however, considerably affects the characteristic size of cells and grains that, in turn, appears to be the main factor determining the strength under tensile loading. On the other hand, residual stresses apparently have no influence on the quasi-static mechanical properties of the samples. The material fabricated using a stripe with contour strategy displays the finest microstructure and the best combination of mechanical properties: yield strength and ultimate tensile strength are about 550 and 1010 MPa and plastic deformation exceeds 50 %. Another important aspect for the application of 316L steel synthesized by SLM is its thermal stability. Therefore, the influence of annealing at different temperatures (573, 873, 1273, 1373 and 1673 K) on the stability of phases, composition and microstructure of 316L stainless steel fabricated by using the stripe with contour strategy has been investigated. Moreover, the changes induced by the heat treatment have been used to understand the corresponding variations of the mechanical properties of the specimens under tensile loading. Annealing has no effect on phase formation: a single-phase austenite is observed in all specimens investigated here. In addition, annealing does not change the random crystallographic orientation observed in the as-synthesized material. The complex cellular microstructure with fine subgrain structures characteristic of the as-SLM specimens is stable up to 873 K. The cell size increases with increasing annealing temperature until the cellular microstructure can no longer be observed at high temperatures (T ≥ 1273 K). The strength of the specimens decreases with increasing annealing temperature as a result of the microstructural coarsening. The excellent combination of strength and ductility exhibited by the as-synthesized material can be ascribed to the complex cellular microstructure and subgrains along with the misorientation between grains, cells, cell walls and subgrains. With the aim of further improving the mechanical behaviour of 316L steel, this works examines the effect of hard second-phase particles on microstructure and related mechanical properties. For this, a composite consisting of a 316L steel matrix and 5 vol.% CeO2 particles was fabricated by SLM. The SLM parameters leading to a defect-free 316L matrix are not suitable for the production of 316L/CeO2 composite specimens. However, highly-dense composite samples can be synthesized by carefully adjusting the laser scanning speed, while keeping the other parameters constant. The addition of the CeO2 reinforcement does not alter phase formation, but it affects the microstructure of the composite, which is significantly refined compared with the unreinforced 316L material. The refined microstructure induces significant strengthening in the composite without deteriorating the plastic deformation. The analysis of the effect of a second phase is continued by investigating how TiB2 particles influence the microstructure and mechanical properties of a 316L stainless steel synthesized by selective laser melting. The complex cellular microstructure with fine subgrains characteristic of the unreinforced 316L matrix is found in all samples. The addition of the TiB2 particles reduces significantly the sizes of the grains and cells. Furthermore, the TiB2 particles are homogeneously dispersed in the 316L matrix and they form circular precipitates with sizes around 50-100 nm along the grain boundaries. These microstructural features induce significant strengthening compared with the unreinforced 316L specimens. These findings prove that SLM can be successfully used to synthesize 316L stainless steel matrix composites with overall superior mechanical properties in comparison with the unreinforced 316L steel matrix. This might help to extend the use of SLM to fabricate steel matrix composites for automotive, aerospace and numerous other applications.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a group of manufacturing technologies which are capable to produce 3D solid parts by adding successive layers of material. Parts are fabricated in an additive manner, layer by layer; and the geometric data can be taken from a CAD model directly. The main revolutionary aspect of AM is the ability of quickly producing complex geometries without the need of tooling, allowing for greater design freedom. As one of AM methods, Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a process for producing metal parts with minimal subtractive post-processing required. It relies on the generation and distribution of laser generated heat to raise the temperature of a region of a powder bed to above the melting point. Due to high energy input to enable full melting of the powder bed materials, SLM is able to build fully dense metal parts without post heat treatment and other processing. Successful fabrications of parts by SLM require a comprehensive understanding of the main process controlling parameters such as energy input, powder bed properties and build conditions, as well as the microstructure formation procedure as it can strongly affect the final mechanical properties. It is valuable to control the parts' microstructure through controlling the process parameters to obtain acceptable mechanical properties for end-users. In the SLM process, microstructure characterisation strongly depends on the thermal history of the process. The temperature distribution in the building area can significantly influence the melting pool behaviour, solidification process and thermal mechanical properties of the parts. Therefore, it is important to have an accurate prediction of the temperature distribution history during the process. The aim of this research is to gain a better understanding of process control parameters in SLM process, and to develop a modelling methodology for the prediction of microstructure forming procedure. The research is comprised of an experiment and a finite element modelling part. Experimentation was carried out to understand the effect of each processing control parameters on the final part quality, and characterise the model inputs. Laser energy input, build conditions and powder bed properties were investigated. Samples were built and tested to gain the knowledge of the relationship between samples' density and mechanical properties and each process control factor. Heat transfer model inputs characterisation, such as defining and measuring the material properties, input loads and boundary conditions were also carried out via experiment. For the predictive modelling of microstructure, a methodology for predicting the temperature distribution history and temperature gradient history during the SLM process has been developed. Moving heat source and states variable material properties were studied and applied to the heat transfer model for reliable prediction. Multi-layers model were established to simulate the layer by layer process principles. Microstructure was predicted by simulated melting pool behaviour and the history of three dimensional temperature distribution and temperature gradient distribution. They were validated by relevant experiment examination and measurement.

Research focused on the selective laser melting (SLM) of stainless steels and aluminium alloys. For steels, the possibility of creating a magnetically graded material was demonstrated as well as the ability to improve consolidation with austenitic and martensitic stainless steel powder mixtures. Stainless Steel/CoCr hybrid samples were also manufactured and tested to investigate the advantages of functionally graded materials (FGMs). Al alloy research began with examining the requirements for successful Al alloy consolidation in SLM and through experimentation it was found that Al alloys with good welding properties were the best choice: pure Al was found to be completely unsuitable. 6061 Al alloy was then used as a base material to manufacture Al-Cu alloy samples. Single layer SLM samples were produced first, which resulted in recognised Al-Cu microstructures forming. Multilayer Al alloy SLM research resulted in the discovery of the theorised ability to manufacture Al-Cu alloy parts with a nanocrystalline Al matrix with dispersed Al2Cu quasicrystals, resulting in a material comparable to a metal matrix composite that showed excellent corrosion resistance and compressive strength. Finally, a demonstration part was made to test the capability of the SLM process producing an aerospace type geometry using a customised Al alloy. Observations during manufacture and post process analysis showed that Al alloys were susceptible to changes in mechanical properties due to the geometry of the manufactured part.

Residual stresses are one of the major challenges in additive manufacturing of metallic materials today. They are induced during manufacturing because of the rapid local heating and cooling and may cause distortions, cracking and delamination between layers. The magnitude of the residual stresses depends on factors such as manufacturing technology, material, part geometry, scanning strategy, process parameters, preheating temperature and density of the component. In the present work, the magnitudes of residual stresses and distortions in austenitic stainless steel 316L components manufactured by Selective Laser melting have been investigated. Four specimens with rectangular cross-sections where produced with different heights and wall thicknesses. The residual stresses were measured by two different methods, x-ray diffraction and Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) incremental hole drilling in order to see how well they correspond to each other. The results showed peaks of high tensile stresses in the building direction in all specimens. The magnitudes of stresses were similar in all four specimens. The largest distortions occurred when the wall thickness was increased, and the height was reduced. It was also shown that the measurements made by x-ray diffraction and ESPI incremental hole drilling were not consistent with each other. The latter showed unrealistically high measurements near the surface.

The thesis focuses on exploring the sub-grain structure in stainless steel 316L prepared by additive manufacturing (AM). Two powder-bed based AM methods are involved: selective laser melting (SLM) and electron beam melting (EBM). It is already known that AM 316L has heterogeneous property and hierarchy structure: micro-sized melt pools, micro-sized grains, nano-sized sub-grain structure and nano-sized inclusions. Yet, the relation among these structures and their influence on mechanical properties have not been clearly revealed so far. Melt pool boundaries having lower amount of sub-grain segregated network structures (Cellular structure) are weaker compared to the base material. Compared with cell boundaries, grain boundaries have less influence on strength but are still important for ductility. Cell boundaries strengthen the material without losing ductility as revealed by mechanical tests. Cellular structure can be continuous across the melt pool boundaries, low angle sub-grain boundaries, but not grain boundaries. Based on the above understanding, AM process parameters were adjusted to achieve customized mechanical properties. Comprehensive characterization were carried out to investigate the density, composition, microstructure, phase, magnetic permeability, tensile property, Charpy impact property, and fatigue property of both SLM and EBM SS316L at room temperature and at elevated temperatures (250°C and 400°C). In general, SLM SS316L has better strength while EBM SS316L has better ductility due to the different process conditions. Improved cell connection between melt pools were achieved by rotating 45° scanning direction between each layer compared to rotating 90°. Superior mechanical properties (yield strength 552 MPa and elongation 83%) were achieved in SLM SS316L fabricated with 20 µm layer thickness and tested in the building direction. Y2O3 added oxide dispersed strengthening steel (ODSS) were also prepared by SLM to further improve its performance at elevated temperatures. Slightly improved strength and ductility (yield strength 574 MPa and elongation 90%) were obtained on 0.3%Y2O3-ODSS with evenly dispersed nanoparticles (20 nm). The strength drops slightly  but ductility drops dramatically at elevated temperatures. Fractographic analysis results revealed that the coalescence of nano-voids is hindered at room temperature but not at elevated temperatures. The achieved promising properties in large AM specimens assure its potential application in nuclear fusion. For the first time, ITER first wall panel parts with complex inner pipe structure were successfully fabricated by both SLM and EBM which gives great confidence to application of AM in nuclear industry.

At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript. Paper 5: Manuscript.

The focus of this literary study was additive manufacturing (AM) and the purpose was to find general trends for selected materials that have been additively manufactured and compare them to results from other reviews. The raw materials studied were stainless steels 316L, 17-4 PH, 15-5 PH and 420, as well as tool steel H13 and nickel alloys 625, 718 and Hastelloy X.The AM techniques studied were selective laser melting (SLM), electron beam melting (EBM) and binder jetting (BJG).  A total of 69 articles have been studied to fulfill the purpose above. The articles were used to write a summary of the techniques, compare them to each other and to conventional methods. They were also used to create a database to compile information on mechanical properties, microstructure and process parameters. Based on the database mechanical properties for SLM tend to be higher compared to EBM. This however varied somewhat depending on the processed material. Furthermore the yield and tensile strength obtained from the database for SLM seemed to be higher compared to the values in review articles for almost all materials. Unfortunately not enough values were found for BJG to compare it to SLM and EBM.AM seems to produce weaker, equal and superior products compared to conventional methods. However due to the limited nature of the project and the research found no conclusions can be drawn about any trends, how to achieve the different results or how parameters affect the finished product. To be able to say anything with more certainty more research has to be done. Not only in general concerning the AM techniques, but more studying of existing articles is needed. Finally a standardization on how to reference properties and process parameters is necessary. Currently it is very difficult to compare results or draw conclusions due to different designations, units and a lot of missing essential information.

Recycling has proven not only to address today’s economical, environmental and social issues, but also to be imperative for the sustainability of human technology. The current thesis has investigated the feasibility of a new philosophy for Recycling (Alloying-Recycling) using steel 1020 and aluminum 6061T6. The study was limited to the metallurgical aspects only and has highlighted the potential of recycled alloys made of recycled aluminum and steel to exhibit substantially increased wear resistance and strength-to-weight ratio as compared to initial primary materials. Three alloy-mixtures are considered: TN3 (5wt% 1020 +95wt% 6061T6); TN5 (0.7wt% 1020 + 99.3wt% 6061T6); and TN4 (10wt% 6061T6 + 90wt% 1020). A Tucker induction power supply system (3kW; 135-400 kHz) is used to melt the alloy mixtures for casting in graphite crucibles. Heat treatment of the cast samples is done using a radiation box furnace. Microscopy, Vickers hardness and pin-on-disc abrasive wear tests are performed. Casting destroyed the initial microstructures of the alloys leading to a hardness reduction in the as-cast and solution heat-treated aluminum rich samples to 60 Hv from 140 Hv. Ageing slightly increased the hardness of the cast samples and provided a wear resistance two times higher than that of the initial 6061T6 material. On the steel rich side, the hardness of the as-cast TN4 was 480 Hv, which is more than twice as high as the initial hardness of steel 1020 of 202 Hv; this hints to strong internal and residual stress, probably martensite formation during fast cooling following casting. Solution heat treatment lowered the hardness to the original value of steel 1020, but provided about ten (10) times higher wear resistance; this suggests higher ductility and toughness of normalised TN4 as compared to 1020. In addition, TN4 exhibits about 25% weight reduction as compared to 1020. The actual recycling process and the effect of non-metallic impurities shall be investigated in future works. Also, the casting and heat treatment processes need to be improved.

Additive manufacturing is revolutionizing the way of production and use of materials. The clear tendency for shifting from mass production to individual production of net-shape components has encouraged using selective laser melting (SLM) or electron beam melting (EBM). In this thesis, austenitic, duplex and martensitic stainless steel parts were fabricated by laser melting technique using fixed laser scanning parameters. The fabricated steel parts were characterised using XRD, SEM, TEM/STEM, SADP and EBSD techniques. Mechanical properties of the fabricated steel parts were also measured. The mechanism of the evolution of microstructure during laser melting as well as the mechanism of the effect of developed microstructure on the mechanical properties was investigated. It was found that the intense localized heating, non-uniform and asymmetric temperature gradients and subsequently fast cooling introduces unique high level structural hierarchies and microstructure heterogeneities in laser melted steel parts. A unique structural hierarchy from the millimetre scale melt pools down to the sub-micron/nano scale cellular sub-grains was observed. The cellular sub-grains were 0.5-1μm with Molybdenum enriched at the sub-grain boundaries in SLM 316L. The Mo enriched cell boundaries affected the chemical and microstructure stability of the post heat treated samples. Well dispersed and large concentration of dislocations around the cell boundaries and well distributed oxide nano inclusions, imposed large strengthening and hardening effect that led to relatively superior tensile strength (700 MPa), yield strength (456 MPa), and microhardness (325Hv) compared to those of HIP 316L steel. The in-situ formation of oxide nano inclusions provided a unique way for preparation of oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) steel in a single process. The formation of oxide nano inclusions in the very low oxygen partial pressure of laser chamber was thermodynamically explained. High concentration of nano size dislocation loops, formation of nitride phases along with nitrogen enriched islands and oxide nano inclusions lead to strong dislocation pinning effect which strengthened the laser melted duplex stainless steel with a total tensile strength of 1321 MPa, yield strength of 1214 MPa and microhardness of 450HV. The grade 420 stainless steel was laser melted in Ar and N2 atmosphere which also showed a two level hierarchy with nanometric martensite lathes embedded in parental austenite cellular grains. The Ar treated sample had relatively higher retained austenite, lower YS (680-790 MPa) and UTS (1120-1200 MPa) compared to those treated in N2 (YS= 770-1100 MPa, UTS=1520-1560 MPa). The mechanism of the effect of atmosphere on phase transformation was explained.

At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Submitted.

Selective Laser Melting is a rapidly developing additive manufacturing technique that can be used to create unique metal parts with tailormade properties not possible using traditional manufacturing. To understand the process from a most basic level, this study investigates system capabilities when melting single tracks of material. Individual tracks allow for a wide range of scan speeds and laser powers to be utilized and the melt pools analyzed. I discuss how existing studies and simulations can be used to narrow down the selection of potentially successful parameter combinations as well as the limitations of interpretation for single track information. Once we attain a solid understanding of what parameters perform well at a bead level, we can move onto looking at complete 3D parts. A challenge we have faced is creating near fully dense parts and determining a reliable density measurement technique that is accessible for operators at our university. Our results show that the previously determined optimized scan speed and laser power can consistently create parts with >99.5% density over a range of sizes using an analysis method utilizing readily available equipment and software.

The diploma thesis deals with finding suitable process parameters for the production of molding segment by SLM technology. It consists of a combination of structures, shells, thin slats and bulk parts. The tested material is maraging steel 300. The research part deals with the problem of choice of suitable process parameters, such as laser power and speed, hatch distance and thickness of the built layer. The achievable mechanical properties of the parts and the choice of the suitable structure were also examined. In the thesis were found suitable process parameters for printing of bulk parts and structures.

Selective Laser Melting (SLM), a laser-based Additive Manufacturing technique has appealed to the bio-medical, automotive, and aerospace industries due to its ability to fabricate geometrically complex parts with tailored properties and high-precision end-use products. The SLM processing parameters highly influence the part quality, microstructure, and mechanical properties. The process-structure-property relationship of the SLM process is not well-understood. In the process-structure study, a quasi-2D model of Micro-Selective Laser Melting process using molecular dynamics is developed to investigate the localized melting and solidification of a randomly-distributed Aluminum nano-powder bed. The rapid solidification in the meltpool reveals the cooling rate dependent homogeneous nucleation of equiaxed grains at the center of the meltpool. Long columnar grains that spread across three layers, equiaxed grains, nano-pores, twin boundaries, and stacking faults are observed in the final solidified nanostructure obtained after ten passes of the laser beam on three layers of Aluminum nano-powder particles. In the structure-property study, the mechanical deformation behavior of the complex cellular structures observed in the SLM-fabricated 316L Stainless Steel is investigated by performing a series of molecular dynamics simulations of uniaxial tension tests. The effects of compositional segregation of alloying elements, distribution of austenite and ferrite phases in the microstructure, subgranular cell sizes, and pre-existing (grown in) nano-twins on the tensile characteristics of the cellular structures are investigated. The highest yield strength is observed when the Nickel concentration in the cell boundary drops very low to form a ferritic phase in the cell boundary. Additionally, the subgranular cell size has an inverse relationship with mechanical strength, and the nano-twinned cells exhibit higher strength in comparison with twin-free cells.
Master of Science
Additive Manufacturing's (AM) rise as a modern manufacturing paradigm has led to the proliferation in the number of materials that can be processed, reduction in the cost and time of manufacturing, and realization of complicated part geometries that were beyond the capabilities of conventional manufacturing. Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a laser-based AM technique which can produce metallic parts from the fusion of a powder-bed. The SLM processing parameters greatly influence the part's quality, microstructure, and properties. The process-structure-property relationship of the SLM process is not well-understood. In-situ experimental investigation of the physical phenomena taking place during the SLM process is limited because of the very small length and time scales. Computational methods are cost-effective alternatives to the challenging experimental techniques. But, the continuum-based computational models are ineffective in modeling some of the important physical processes such as melting, nucleation and growth of grains during solidification, and the deformation mechanisms at the atomistic scale. Atomistic simulation is a powerful method that can offset the limitations of the continuum models in elucidating the underlying physics of the SLM process. In this work, the influence of the SLM process parameters on the microstructure of the Aluminum nano-powder particles undergoing μ-SLM processing and the mechanical deformation characteristics of the unique cellular structures observed in the SLM-fabricated 316L stainless steel are studied using molecular dynamics simulations. Ten passes of the laser beam on three layers of Aluminum nano-powder particles have unfolded the formation mechanisms of a complex microstructure associated with the SLM process. The study on the deformation mechanisms of 316L stainless steel has revealed the contribution of the cellular structures to its superior mechanical properties.

Diploma thesis deals with the influence of recycling of powder steel 1.2709 on porosity of parts processed by SLM technology. Theoretical part of this thesis gives an overview of the influence of selected process parameters of this additive technology on the porosity of manufactured parts. The presence of pores in the material is the main cause of worse mechanical properties compared to conventionally manufactured materials. Since the advantage of this technology is the possibility of wasteless production, one of the possible causes of pore formation and degradation of properties of the powder material is due to standard recycling by means of sieving to remove the contaminants generated during the construction. This paper compares the porosity of parts produced by two different machines, analyzes the possible consequences of sieving on powder properties, establishes recommendations for setting the recycling process, and compares the degree of influence of process parameters on porosity.

The aim of the thesis has been to investigate the effect of the scanning strategy and the main process parameters on the final parts produced through Selective Laser Melting. Selective laser melting (SLM) is the most common Powder Bed Fusion technology and it uses high energy laser to selectively melt pre-deposited powders. The printed material is the 18Ni300 maraging steel, a low-carbon ultra-high strength steel whose properties derive from the presence of nickel-based intermetallic compounds. Thanks to their good weldability and the resistance to quench cracking, the maraging steels are good candidate materials to be produced through the SLM process. Interestingly, the microstructure of the SLM produced parts is completely different from the one of the traditionally produced ones, depending not just on the material but also on the values of the process parameters used to print. So, it is necessary to study in-depth the characteristics of the printed parts. Four prints have been carried out, keeping constant the volumetric energy density, the laser power and the layer thickness. The scan speed, the hatch spacing, the rotation between adjacent layers and the scan strategy have been changed. In particular, the “stripes”, the “chessboard” and the “hexagonal” strategies have been considered. It has been found out that the hexagonal strategy always led to the biggest external diameter, to the lowest density and almost always to the highest roughness of the final parts. All these negative results were probably related to the longer time elapsing between the scan of two adjacent tracks compared to the other two strategies. The results of the nano-hardness tests are not clearly showing which strategy performs better, probably because a too small portion of specimen has been considered for those tests. Moreover, ANOVA analysis has been performed and it confirmed the primary importance of the scan strategy as process parameter.

Selective laser melting has shown incredible growth as a metallic additive manufacturing process in recent years. While it does provide many solutions and new ways to approach challenges, it does not come without issues of its own, namely, surface roughness. In the as-printed state, the surface roughness of selectively laser melted parts is unacceptable for use in engineering applications. Additionally, selective laser melting is used to produce complex geometries with hard to reach features, preventing conventional mechanical polishing from being successful. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate non-mechanical polishing processes as treatments for surface roughness. In this study, electrochemical and laser polishing were investigated as potential start-to-finish treatments for the surface roughness of selectively laser melted parts. Following this preliminary study, a follow-up study investigating the effect on the mechanical strength of a lattice design that electropolishing would have. Electropolishing was found to significantly reduce the surface roughness of the as-printed part, but not to a usable value. Additionally, electropolishing was found to be unacceptable for use on lattice parts. Laser polishing was found to significantly reduce the surface roughness of the part but had feature size issues preventing a perfectly smooth surface.

This diploma thesis deals with development and design modifications of tire mould segment which will be batch produced by additive technology Selective Laser Melting. Material for its production is maraging steel 1.2709. Lattice structure was used inside the segment construction. The geometry of the lattice cell was chose based on two main factors – eliminating production costs and providing sufficient stiffness. Strength of the segment was calculated by FEM. The functional sample was made and its distortion was analyzed by optical digitalization.

Metal additive technology allows to create objects with complex shape that are very difficult to produce by conventional technologies. An example of such component is a porous structure which is composed of periodical truss cells. This diploma thesis deals with the prediction of the mechanical properties of very small lattice structures made of additive manufacturing technology Selective Laser Melting. Using the proposed test specimens it was found that real dimensions of the trusses varies with size and orientation to the base platform. It was proposed and tested samples for rod tensile test made of SLM. Based on the real information about dimensions and mechanical properties of rods were predicted mechanical properties of lattice structures. A lot of mechanical tests were carried out to obtain the real mechanical properties. Test results and conclusions are described in the thesis.

Optimal print parameters for additively manufacturing 316L stainless steel using selective laser melting (SLM) at Cal Poly had previously been identified. In order to further support the viability of the current settings, tensile material characteristics were needed. Furthermore, reliable performance of the as-printed material had to be demonstrated. Any influence on the static performance of parts in the as-printed condition inherent to the SLM manufacturing process itself needed to be identified. Tensile testing was conducted to determine the properties of material in the as-printed condition. So as to have confidence in the experimental results, other investigations were also conducted to validate previous assumptions. Stereological relative density measurements showed that the as-printed material exhibited relative density in excess of 99%. Optical dimensional analysis found that the as-printed tensile specimens met ASTM E8 dimensional requirements in 14 out of 15 parts inspected. Baseline tensile tests indicated that the yield stress of the as-printed material is 24% higher than a cold-rolled alternative, while still achieving comparable ductility. The location of a tensile specimen on the build plate during the print was not found to have a significant effect on its mechanical properties. Theoretical behavior of notched tensile specimens based on finite element models matched experimental behavior in the actual specimens. Unique fracture behavior was found in both the unnotched reference and the most severe notch after microscopic inspection, and a root cause was proposed. Finally, extrapolating from previous studies and observing that experimental results matched theoretical models, it was determined that features inherent to SLM parts were not detrimental to the static performance of the as-printed material.

Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit den aktuell bestehenden Herausforderungen der Technologie der additiven Fertigung in Form des selektiven Laserstrahlschmelzen (SLM). Es soll sich mit den Aspekten des Leichtbaus beim SLM-Verfahren beschäftigt werden. Dies geschieht mit zwei theoretischen Lösungsansätzen zur Gewichtsreduzierung von Bauteilen: 1. der Einsatz von Werkstoffen geringerer Dichte oder von neuen hochfesten Werkstoffen; 2. neue Bauweisen durch neue Konstruktions- und Werkstoffaufbauprinzipien. Praktisch erfolgt der erste Ansatz durch die Entwicklung von Prozessparametern und deren Einfluss auf das Gefüge von - für das SLM-Verfahren - neuen Leichtbauwerkstoffen, den Titanaluminiden (TiAl). Aus der großen Spanne von verschiedenen TiAl-Legierungen wurden für diese Arbeit folgende Vertreter Ti38,87Al43,67Nb4,08Mo1,02B0,1 und Ti48Al48Cr2Nb2 aufgrund ihres guten Eigenschaftsspektrums und der unterschiedlichen Erstarrungsvoränge gewählt. Aufgrund der hohen Anzahl von Einflussgrößen sollen verschiedene Ansätze, wie statistische Versuchspläne oder Einzelbahncharakterisierungen, verfolgt werden, um eine effiziente und schnelle Parameteroptimierung zu erzielen. Der zweite Ansatz verfolgt die Herstellung verschiedener Gitterstrukturen aus 1.4404-Stahl (X2CrNiMo 17-12-2). Durch das Fertigen von Gittern mit verschiedenen relativen Dichten, was über eine Variation der Durchmesser der Streben erreicht wird, sowie das mechanische Testen dieser, ist es möglich, eine Datengrundlage für zukünftige Konstruktionen zu erstellen
This work deals with the currently existing challenges of technology of additive manufacturing in the form of selective laser melting (SLM). The aspects of lightweight construction with the SLM process will be highlighted. This is done with two theoretical approaches to weight reduction of components: 1. the use of materials of lower density or new high-strength materials; 2. new construction methods through new design and material construction principles. In practice, the first approach is performed through the development of process parameters and their influence on the microstructure of - for the SLM-process – a new lightweight material, the titanium aluminide (TiAl). Among the large range of various TiAl alloys the following two representatives Ti38,87Al43,67Nb4,08Mo1,02B0,1 and Ti48Al48Cr2Nb2 were chosen because of their good property spectrum and their different solidification behavior. The second approach pursued the production of various lattice structures made of 1.4404 steel (X2CrNiMo 17-12-2). By fabricating lattices with different relative densities, which is achieved by varying the diameter of the struts, and the mechanical testing of those, it is possible to create a data base for future construction principles

Making gradient in the microstructure of metals is proven to be a superior method for improving their mechanical properties. In this research, we 3D print, characterize and evaluate the mechanical properties of 316L Stainless Steel with a gradient in their microstructure. During 3D printing, the gradient in the microstructure is created by tailoring the processing parameters (hatch spacing, scanning speed, and laser power and scanning speed) of the Selective Laser Melting (SLM). The Materials with Graded Microstructure (MGMs) are characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Image processing framework is utilized to reveal the distribution of cells and melt pools shapes and sizes in the volume of the material when the processing parameters change. It is shown that the laser power, scanning speed and the hatch spacing have a more significant effect on the size and shape of cells and melt pools compared to the speed. Multiple Dog bones are 3D printed with a microstructure that has smaller features (cells and melt polls) at the edges of the structure compared to the center. Tensile and fatigue tests are performed and compared for samples with constant and graded microstructures.
Master of Science
The mechanical performance of Selective Laser Melting (SLM) fabricated materials is an important topic in research. Strengthening the performance of these materials can be achieved through implementing a gradient within the microstructure, referred to as Materials with Graded Microstructure (MGMs). A complicated microstructure can weaken the microstructure, and this can be resolved by optimizing the microstructure during SLM 3D printing, in which the processing parameters are tailored. In this study, the mechanical properties of these MGMs were characterized and evaluated. The gradient in these materials were created by modifying SLM process parameters (scanning speed, hatch spacing, and laser power and scanning speed) during the build. Optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize these the microstructure of these MGMs, and image processing was used to examine the distribution of cells and melt pools characteristics throughout the region where the processing parameters changed. This investigation shows that laser power, scanning speed, and hatch spacing have a direct effect on the size and shape of the cells and melt pools, compared to scanning speed, which shows an effect on melt pools. Dog bone structures are 3-D printed with a graded microstructure that has small cells and melt pools at the edges, compared to the center, by changing the laser power and scanning speed. Tensile and fatigue analysis are performed and compared for samples with constant and graded microstructures, which reveal that the mechanical properties of the MGMs perform similar to the parameter at the edges, but differently in fracture mechanics.

Orientador: Maria Clara Filippini Ierardi
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica
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Resumo: A refusão superficial a laser é uma técnica muito promissora para a melhoria das propriedades mecânicas dos aços ferramentas através da homogeneização química e refino da estrutura. O tratamento a laser promove o aquecimento e resfriamento rápidos da camada superficial resultando em transformações microestruturais que promovem a melhoria do desempenho sem envolver o reprocessamento do material como um todo. Neste trabalho foram analisadas, além da microestrutura resultante do tratamento de refusão a laser, a resistência à corrosão e a resistência à flexão dos aços ferramenta para trabalho a quente AISI H13 e inoxidável martensítico AISI 420. Os resultados experimentais foram comparados com os mesmos aços sem tratamento. Observou-se que a microestrutura resultante do tratamento de refusão a laser é formada de martensita e austenita residual. A estrutura refinada e a presença de martensita resultaram em um aumento da dureza, apesar do grande volume de austenita residual. A dissolução de carbonetos e incorporação dos elementos de liga na matriz, como por exemplo o cromo, promoveu uma melhoria no comportamento em corrosão
Abstract: Laser surface melting is a very promising technique to improve the mechanical properties of tool steel by the chemical homogenization and refinement of the microstructure. Laser treatment promotes the rapid heating and cooling of the superficial layer resulting in microstructure transformations, which improve material performance without involving the reprocessing of the bulk material. In this work, besides the microstructure resulting from laser surface melting, corrosion resistance and deflection of hot-work tool steel AISI H13 and martensitic stainless steel AISI 420 were analyzed. The experimental results were compared to the same steels without treatment. The microstructure of the laser surface melting is formed by martensite and retained austenite. The refined structure and the presence of martensite increased hardness, despite the large volume of retained austenite. The carbides dissolution and incorporation of alloying elements into the matrix, for example chrome, improve the corrosion behavior
Mestrado
Materiais e Processos de Fabricação
Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica

An experimental study of several variants of radius and strut angle of the body centered cubic unit cell was performed to determine the mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of the mesostructure. Quasi static compression tests were performed on an Instron® universal testing machine with a 50kN load cell at 0.2mm/min. The test samples were built using a SLM Solutions 125 selective laser melting machine with 316L stainless steel. Test specimens were based on 5mm cubic unit cells, with a strut diameter 10% of the unit cell size, with skins on top and bottom to provide a cantilever boundary constraint. Specimens were inspected for dimensional accuracy using precision calipers and inspected for morphology using a MicroVu® macroscope. The compressive properties of the mesostructure was compared to the compressive properties of macrostructure. The BCC unit cell behaves significantly different at the boundary layer of a constrained lattice. The failure mode at the boundary is characterized by plastic bending within the microstruts while the non boundary layer cells fail via plastic bending at the node. Manufacturing compensation parameters were determined for part shrinkage and droop. Two predictive numerical models were developed, based on the Gibson-Ashby model of cellular solids, as well as a finite element model. Numerical results did not agree well with the experimental results, indicating that the droop observed on the structures significantly affects the mechanical properties of the overall structure. The 25% radius cubic unit cell and 3^3 lattice withstood the greatest stress of all specimens tested and exhibited nearly ideal plastic deformation behavior.

During this master thesis a crushing material composite was developed in order to determine if a specific design consisting of a pointy hard phase with a ductile phase in between can reduce the load needed to crush stone and therefor decrease the energy consumption during stone crushing. The steel hard phase (ASP 2012) was printed using an additive manufacturing method called selective laser melting (SLM). A process parameter optimization was performed in order to achieve a dense material and a pre-heated building platform was used to prevent cracking. The hard phase designs were printed and then filled with bronze (JM3 and JM7). The composites and steel references were tested by placing a stone on each sample and applying pressure until the stone broke. After the tests, the loads and the deterioration of the samples was analyzed. The results showed that it was possible to print the hard phase, but some defects like micro cracking were hard to eliminate entirely. Several methods were tested to cast the bronze but the most suitable during this project was melting of the bronze in an induction furnace with vacuum atmosphere. The results from the crushing simulations showed that there was a small difference between the references and the developed macro composites. The composites began to crush stones at lower loads than the references. Nevertheless, due to a large dispersion of the results a statistical difference could not be established.

Additive manufacturing methods for steel are competing against commercial production in an increasing pace. The geometry freedom together with the high strength and toughness due to extreme cooling rates make this method viable to use for high-performance components. The desirable material properties originate from the ultrafine grain structures. The production is often followed by a post hardening heat treatment to induce precipitation of other phases. The printing process does however bring several challenges such as cracking, pore formation, inclusions, residual stresses and distortions. It is therefore important to be able to predict the properties such as temperature evolution and residual stresses of the resulting part in order to avoid time consuming trial-and-error and unnecessary material waste. In order to link different parts and length scales of the process, the integrated computational materials engineering framework can be used where linkage tools couples results of different length scales. 18Ni300 maraging steel is a material that has been used extensively to produce parts by additive manufacturing, but there is still a wide scope for optimising the process and properties. In this thesis, the integrated computational materials engineering inspired framework is applied to link the process to the microstructure, which dictates the properties. Temperature evolution strongly influences the material properties, residual stresses and distortion in additive manufacturing. Therefore, simulations of temperature evolution for a selective laser melted 18Ni300 maraging steel have been performed by Simufact Additive and linked with the microstructure prediction tools in Thermo-Calc and DICTRA. Various printing parameters have been examined and resulting temperatures, cooling rates, segregations and martensitic start temperatures compared for different locations of the build part. Additionally, residual stresses and distortions were investigated in Simufact. It was found that higher laser energy density caused increased temperatures and cooling rates which generally created larger segregations of alloying elements and lower martensitic start temperatures at the intercellular region. There is however an impact from cooling rate and temperature independent of the energy density which makes energy density not an individual defining parameter for the segregations. By decreasing the baseplate temperature, lower temperatures below the martensitic start temperature were reached, enhancing martensite transformation. Primary dendrite arm spacing calculations were used to validate the cooling rates. The cell size corresponded well to literature of <1 μm. Distortions and residual stresses were very small. The calibration was based according to literature and need experimental values to be validated. The integrated framework demonstrated in this thesis provides an insight into the expected properties of the additively manufactured part which can decrease and replace trial-and-error methods.
dditiva tillverkningsmetoder för stål tävlar mot kommersiell produktion i en ökande takt. Geometrifriheten tillsammans med hög styrka och slagseghet på grund av extrema kylhastigheter gör den här metoden intressant att använda för högpresterande komponenter. De önskvärda materialegenskaperna härstammar från den ultrafina mikrostrukturen. Processen följs ofta av en värmebehandlande härdning för att inducera utskiljningar av andra faser. Printing processen innebär dock flertalet utmaningar som exempelvis sprickbildning, porer, inneslutningar, restspänningar och förvrängningar. Det är därför intressant och viktigt att förutspå egenskaper såsom temperaturutveckling och restspänningar av den slutgiltiga komponenten för att minska tidskrävande ”trial-and-error” och onödigt materialsvin. För att länka ihop olika delar och längdskalor av processen kan ”the integrated computational materials engineering” strukturen användas där länkverktyg kopplar ihop resultat av olika längdskalor. 18Ni300 maraging stål är ett material som har använts till additivt tillverkade produkter i hög utsträckning men det finns fortfarande mycket utrymme för optimering av processen och egenskaperna. I den här avhandlingen, den ”integrated computational materials engineering” inspirerade tillvägagångssättet används för att länka processen med mikrostrukturen, vilken bestämmer egenskaperna. Temperaturutveckling påverkar kraftigt materialegenskaper, restspänningar och deformation vid additiv tillverkning. Förutsägelse av temperatur för ett selektivt lasersmält 18Ni300 stål har därför genomförts i Simufact Additive och länkats med mikrostruktursförutsägande redskapen Thermo-Calc och DICTRA. Olika maskinparametrar har undersökts och efterföljande temperaturer, kylhastigheter, segregeringar och martensitiska starttemperaturer jämförts för olika delar av geometrin. Tilläggningsvis var även restspänningar och deformationer undersökta i Simufact. Det konstaterades att högre energidensitet för lasern orsakade högre temperaturer och kylhastighet vilket generellt skapade mer segregeringar av legeringsämnen och lägre martensitisk starttemperatur i de intercellulära områdena. Det är däremot en gemensam påverkan av kylhastighet och temperatur vilket gör att energidensitet inte är den enskilda bestämmande parametern över segregeringarna. Genom att sänka temperaturen på basplattan uppnåddes lägre temperaturer under den martensitiska starttemperaturen vilket förenklar den martensistiska omvandlingen. Beräkningar av primär dendritisk armlängd användes för att validera kylhastigheterna. Cellstorleken överensstämde bra med litteraturen på <1 μm. Deformationer och restspänningar var väldigt små. Kalibreringarna baserades på litteraturvärden och kräver experimentella värden för att valideras. Den integrerade strukturen  som demonstreras i den här avhandlingen förser en insikt i de förväntade egenskaperna av en additivt tillverkad del vilket kan minska och ersätta ”trial-and-error” metoder.

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Tese (Doutoramento)
IPEN/T
Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

Das selektive Laserschmelzen (SLM) erlaubt komplexe Geometrien zu fertigen, die, z. B. in Form von integrierten Kühlkanälen, bei Werkzeugen von großer Bedeutung sind. Aktuell werden in der Industrie hauptsächlich Aluminium-, Stahl-, Titan-, Nickel- und Kobaltchromlegierungen mit SLM verarbeitet. Für die additive Fertigung sind Stähle interessant, die besondere Eigenschaften aufweisen. So wird für Konstruktionsbauteile größtenteils korrosionsbeständiger Stahl verwendet. Ein weiteres Anwendungsfeld ist die Herstellung von Werkzeugen. Die besonderen Ansprüche an die mechanischen Eigenschaften, die für Werkzeuge benötigt werden, erfüllen die Werkzeugstähle. Durch die Neigung zu Rissbildung und Verzug resultiert eine herausfordernde Verarbeitbarkeit im SLM-Prozess. Werkzeugstähle wurden bisher auf Grund dieser Herausforderungen selten mit SLM prozessiert. Es besteht daher ein großer Bedarf die Zusammenhänge zwischen dem Prozess, der Verarbeitbarkeit, dem entstehenden Gefüge und den resultierenden Eigenschaften aufzuklären. In dieser Arbeit werden die Mikrostruktur und die mechanischen Eigenschaften dreier hochfester Stahllegierungen, verarbeitet im SLM-Prozess, untersucht. Eine Legierungsentwicklung, speziell auf die Anforderungen des SLM-Prozesses zugeschnitten, ermöglicht, das volle Potenzial des SLM-Prozesses auszuschöpfen. Die Verarbeitbarkeit der neu entwickelten Legierung im SLM-Prozess konnte erfolgreich gegenüber den Ausgangslegierungen verbessert werden.

The main problem encountered in this thesis is the lack of research and knowledge of selective laser melted-printing with Uddeholm Dievar®. This absence of information could cause issues regarding quality and properties of the alloy as well as uncertainty regarding an appropriate heat treatment cycle. This thesis mainly focuses on observing the changes that occur in the microstructure when Uddeholm Dievar® is manufactured through the additive manufacturing (AM) method known as selective laser melting (SLM). The SLM- method consists of a high-power laser that melts together thin layers of powder, one layer at a time, until a three-dimensional product is created according to selected drawings. The methodology on which this thesis is based on is the execution of a theoretical study, scientific experiments and thermodynamic calculations. Analysis of the microstructure is performed using a scanning electron microscope with techniques such as Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The purpose of the methods are to map the constituent elements of the alloy and observe the orientation of the crystallographic phases in the atomic lattice respectively. The results show that the powder, both before and after printing, mainly consists of martensite with a low amount of residual austenite. The amount of primary carbides is relatively low and has been classified as MC (V-rich) and/or M6C (Mo- rich) type. The remaining residual austenite could be explained by the segregation of constituent alloying elements, where the carbon content is a dominant factor to why the MS -temperature lowers significantly causing the presence of retained austenite even though SLM has a cooling rate that varies between 103 and 108 [K/s].
Det huvudsakliga problemet som denna avhandling behandlar är bristen på forskning och kunskap inom selective laser melting (SLM) 3D-printing med Uddeholm Dievar®. Avsaknaden kan leda till sämre kvalité och produktegenskaper hos legeringen. Det kan även leda till ovisshet gällande val av lämplig värmebehandling. Arbetet fokuserar på att dokumentera utformningen av stålets mikrostruktur när Uddeholm Dievar® tillverkas med den additiva tillverkningsmetoden SLM. Tillverkningsprocessen består av en högeffektslaser som detaljerat smälter samman tunna lager pulver, ett lager i taget, tills att en tredimensionell produkt skapats utefter valda ritningar. Använda metoder är; utförandet av en teoretisk studie, vetenskapliga experiment och thermodynamiska beräkningar. Analys av mikrostrukturen genomförs med hjälp av svepelektronmikroskåp där teknikerna Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) och Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) används. Syftet med EDS är att kartlägga de ingående elementen i legeringen, syftet med EBSD är att se orientering av de kristallografiska faserna i atomgittret. Resultaten visar på att legeringen, både före och efter printing, till största del består av martensit med en låg mängd restaustenit. Mängden primärkarbider är relativt låg och har klassifiserats som typen MC (V-rik) och/eller M6C (Mo- rik). Den kvarstående restausteniten kan möjligen förklaras av segringen av ingående legeringsämnen där kolhalten är en dominerande faktor som sänker MS-temperaturen. Detta gör att restaustenit förekommer trots den höga kylhastigheten som varierar mellan 103 och 108 [K/s] i SLM.

Additive Fertigungsverfahren stellen in den letzten Jahren einen Megatrend dar, da sich mit diesen Verfahren endkonturnahe Werkstücke mit hohem Materialausnutzungsgrad herstellen lassen. Die auch als 3D-Druck bekannt gewordenen additiven Fertigungsverfahren sind jedoch nicht auf die Prototypenfertigung aus Kunststoffen begrenzt. Beim selektiven Laserschmelzen werden metallische Werkstoffe im Pulverbettverfahren mittels Laserstrahl aufgeschmolzen und somit schichtweise aufgebaut. Das Verfahren findet bereits in der Luft- und Raumfahrt, der Medizintechnik, aber auch in der Automobilindustrie und im Maschinenbau Anwendung für Prototypen, Einzelanfertigungen oder Kleinstserien. Des Weiteren ermöglicht es auch die Herstellung von Werkstücken mit besonders hoher Komplexität, die mit spanenden Verfahren nicht herstellbar sind, und bietet dadurch neue Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten bei der Konstruktion. Innerhalb des Vortrags werden nach der Vorstellung des Verfahrens verschiedene Methoden zur numerischen Simulation des selektiven Laserschmelzens von Edelstahl (1.4404) am Beispiel der kommerziellen Software Simufact Additive erläutert. Dazu werden der mechanische und thermo-mechanische Lösungsansatz betrachtet sowie die Methode zur Kalibrierung der Simulationen erläutert. Die Erläuterung eines voll transienten thermo-mechanischen Ansatzes erfolgt unter Verwendung der Software MSC Marc. Des Weiteren wird der Einfluss der Orientierung des Werkstücks im Herstellungsprozess auf resultierende Spannungen, Verzug sowie mechanische Eigenschaften analysiert und mit experimentellen Untersuchungen untersetzt.

Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing process which enables the creation of intricate components from high performance alloys. This facilitates the design and fabrication of new cellular materials for blast and impact mitigation, where the performance is heavily influenced by geometric and material sensitivities. Design of such materials requires an understanding of the relationship between the additive manufacturing process and material properties at different length scales: from the microstructure, to geometric feature rendition, to overall dynamic performance. To date, there remain significant uncertainties about both the potential benefits and pitfalls of using additive manufacturing processes to design and optimise cellular materials for dynamic energy absorbing applications. This investigation focuses on the out-of-plane compression of stainless steel cellular materials fabricated using SLM, and makes two specific contributions. First, it demonstrates how the SLM process itself influences the characteristics of these cellular materials across a range of length scales, and in turn, how this influences the dynamic deformation. Secondly, it demonstrates how an additive manufacturing route can be used to add geometric complexity to the cell architecture, creating a versatile basis for geometry optimisation. Two design spaces are explored in this work: a conventional square honeycomb hybridised with lattice walls, and an auxetic stacked-origami geometry, manufactured and tested experimentally here for the first time. It is shown that the hybrid lattice-honeycomb geometry outperformed the benchmark metallic square honeycomb in terms of energy absorption efficiency in the intermediate impact velocity regime (approximately 100 m/s). In this regime, the collapse is dominated by dynamic buckling effects, but wave propagation effects have yet to become pronounced. By tailoring the fold angles of the stacked origami material, numerical simulations illustrated how it can be optimised for specific impact velocity regimes between 10-150 m/s. Practical design tools were then developed based on these results.

The diploma thesis deals with the selection of process parameters used for manufacturing of high-strenth materials using SLM technology. The feedstock material was powder with a chemical composition according to standard DIN X3NiCoMoTi 18-9-5. Influence of change in process parameters on mechanical properties was examined by hardness tests and tensile tests. Metallographic and fractographic analysis were conducted with an aim to understand mechanisms of failure present in this type of material. Selection of optimal process parameters was based on the analysis of mechanical properties of manufactured samples. Possible future steps related to the improvement of the process were proposed. Results of this experiment were compared with literature regarding parts produced by SLM technology and conventional methods.

Orientador: Pedro Magalhães Sobrinho
Resumo: O aço é um dos materiais mais utilizados em todo o mundo, é possível ser 100% reciclado, obtendo novo aço sem perda de qualidade e quantas vezes for necessário. O setor siderúrgico é o maior consumidor de energia final destinado a indústria. Para produção do aço existem diversas alternativas possíveis. Neste trabalho é destacada a do forno elétrico a arco, a mais eficiente em termos de energia consumida e a única a qual pode-se utilizar como matéria-prima até 100% de material reciclado. Sendo o aço uma commodity, uma mercadoria básica facilmente intercambiável e utilizada como insumo para produção de outros produtos, tem seu preço regulado pelo mercado e trabalhos em eficiência energética são essenciais para a competitividade das empresas. O presente trabalho visa elaborar sugestões de métodos e tecnologias que possibilitem a redução do consumo específico de energia elétrica em kWh/t (quilowatt hora por tonelada de aço) para o processo de fusão do aço de um forno elétrico a arco, localizado na região do Vale do Paraíba. A metodologia empregada foi a pesquisa-ação, tendo um forno elétrico a arco real, disponível para estudos e captura de dados. As soluções encontradas estão desde técnicas operacionais de produção, até tecnologias em reaproveitamento de gases de exaustão, utilizados para o pré-aquecimento de sucata. Como resultado da pesquisa, obteve-se um conjunto de possibilidades tecnológicas com ganhos de até 143 kWh/t, o que representa cerca de 34% de redução no consumo es... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Abstract: Steel is one of the most widely used materials worldwide, and it is possible to recycle 100% of it so as to generate new steels without quality loss and as many times as needed, however, the steel sector is the largest final energy consumer. There are several possible routes for steel production, but the Electric Arc Furnace has been selected for the present work due to being the most efficient in terms of energy consumption and it is the only one that can use up to 100% of recycled matter as raw material. As steel is a commodity, a basic goods easily interchangeable and used as input for the production of other products, its price is set by the market and energy efficiency studies are essential for the competitiveness of companies. The present work aims to elaborate suggestions of methods and technologies that allow the reduction of the specific electric energy consumption in kWh/t (kilowatt hour per ton of steel) by the steel melting process of an electric arc furnace located in the region of the Paraíba Valley. The methodology used was the action research, having an electric arc furnace, available for studies and data capture. The identified solutions range from operational production techniques to exhaust gas recovery technologies for scrap preheating. As a result, a set of technological possibilities with savings of up to 143 kWh/t have been obtained, which represents about 34% reduction in specific electric energy consumption by taking into account an average consumptio... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
Mestre

Additive Manufacturing, and specifically powder bed fusion processes, have advanced rapidly in recent years. Selective Laser Melting in particular has been adopted in a variety of industries from biomedical to aerospace because of its capability to produce complex components with numerous alloys, including stainless steels, nickel superalloys, and titanium alloys. Post-processing is required to treat or solve metallurgical issues such as porosity, residual stresses, and surface roughness. Because of the geometric complexity of SLM produced parts, the reduction of surface roughness with conventional processing has proven especially challenging. In this Thesis, two processes, abrasive flow machining and ultrasonic shot peening, are evaluated as surface finishing processes for selective laser melted 316L. Results of these experiments indicate that AFM can reliably polish as-built internal passages to 1 µm Ra or better but is unsuitable for passages with rapidly expanding or contracting cross-sections. AFM can also polish relatively small passages, but lattice components may prove too complex for effective processing. USP cannot achieve such low surface roughness, but it is a versatile process with multiple advantages. Exterior surfaces were consistently processed to 1.7 to 2.5 µm Ra. Interior surfaces experienced only partial processing and demonstrated high geometric dependence. USP significantly hardened the surface, but steel media hardened the surface better than ceramic media did. Both AFM and USP are recommended processes for the surface finishing of SLM manufactured parts. Good engineering judgement is necessary to determine when to use these processes and how to design for post-processing.

The first part of the diploma thesis is focused on the analysis and evaluation of the current production of sipes by two SLM devices PXL and M2 Cusing, produced by Phenix Systems and Concept Laser companies. The samples of both machines went through the same manufacturing process and the same process of measurement and evaluation, in order to carry out comparison between individual machines. Geometric accuracy, surface roughness, mechanical properties, and material structure of the samples have been compared. For the sipes it was necessary to create a digital evaluation methodology of geometry. In the second part of the thesis, process parameters are selected on the basis of research and further their influence on surface roughness of manufactured sipes is analyzed.

Les matériaux métalliques sont utilisés dans des conditions de plus en plus sévères et doivent présenter une parfaite intégrité sur des périodes de plus en plus longues. L'objectif de ce travail de thèse est d'évaluer le potentiel d'un traitement de refusion laser pour améliorer la résistance à la corrosion d'un acier inoxydable de type 304L ; l'utilisation du laser dans le domaine des traitements de surface constituant un procédé en pleine évolution à cause des changements récents dans la technologie des lasers. Dans le cadre de ce travail, le choix du laser s'est porté sur un laser nano-impulsionnel à fibre dopée ytterbium dont les caractéristiques permettent la fusion quasi-instantanée sur quelques microns de la surface traitée, immédiatement suivie d'une solidification ultra-rapide avec des vitesses de refroidissement pouvant atteindre 1011 K/s. La combinaison de ces processus favorise l'élimination des défauts surfaciques, la formation de phases hors équilibre, la ségrégation d'éléments chimiques et la formation d'une nouvelle couche d'oxyde dont les propriétés sont gouvernées par les paramètres laser. Afin de les corréler avec la réactivité électrochimique de la surface, l'influence de deux paramètres laser sur les propriétés physico-chimiques de la surface a été étudiée : la puissance du laser et le taux de recouvrement des impacts laser. Pour clarifier ces relations, la résistance à la corrosion par piqûration des surfaces traitées a été déterminée par des tests électrochimiques. Pour des paramètres laser spécifiques, le potentiel de piqûration d'un acier inoxydable de type 304L augmente de plus de 500 mV traduisant ainsi une meilleure tenue à la corrosion localisée en milieu chloruré. L'interdépendance des différents phénomènes résultant du traitement laser a rendu complexe la hiérarchisation de leur effet sur la sensibilité de l'alliage testé. Cependant, il a été montré que la nature de l'oxyde thermique formé au cours de la refusion laser et ses défauts sont du premier ordre pour l'amorçage des piqûres.

Cette étude vise à étudier l'influence de la microstructure, de la rugosité et des défauts de surface sur le comportement en fatigue à grand nombre de cycles (FGNC) d'un acier inoxydable 316L obtenu par fabrication additive (FA). Composée d’un volet expérimental et d’un volet numérique, elle est motivée par le fait que les matériaux issus du procédé de FA présentent souvent un état de surface et une microstructure très distincts des couples procédés de fabrication / matériaux conventionnels. Afin de clairement identifier le rôle joué par chacun des facteurs influents sur la réponse en fatigue, différentes techniques de caractérisation (Profilométrie, EBSD, Tomographie RX, dureté …) sont employées et permettent de mettre en évidence un niveau de rugosité important après fabrication ainsi que des textures morphologiques et cristallographiques marquées. Pour ce qui est du comportement sous chargement mécanique, des essais cycliques à déformation totale imposée mettent en évidence un écrouissage cyclique avec durcissement puis adoucissement. Une importante campagne d’essais en fatigue est conduite sous différents modes de chargement (traction, flexion, torsion) et pour différentes configurations d’état de surface (brut de fabrication, poli). L’analyse des faciès de rupture fait apparaître le rôle prépondérant joué par les défauts de type « lack of fusion » sur les mécanismes d’amorçage en surface des fissures de fatigue. Un diagramme de type Kitagawa-Takahashi est construit à partir de l’observation de la taille des défauts à l’amorçage et le rôle des amas de défaut est clairement démontré. L’étude numérique comporte deux parties distinctes avec, d’abord, un travail préliminaire relatif à la construction d’une méthode non locale adaptée à la prise en compte des effets de microstructure en fatigue dans le cas d’un acier 316L corroyé. A partir des données collectées lors de la campagne expérimentale portant sur l’acier SLM 316L, un modèle d'éléments finis tenant compte de la rugosité, des défauts et de la microstructure est construit. Les calculs sont conduits en utilisant un comportement de type élasticité cubique associé ou pas à de la plasticité cristalline. À l'aide d’une approche faisant appel à la statistique des extrêmes, les résultats des simulations EF sont analysés de manière à quantifier les effets respectifs de la rugosité de surface, de la taille et morphologie des grains, de la texture cristallographique et des défauts
This study aims to investigate the influence of both the microstructure and surface defects on the high cycle fatigue (HCF) behavior of a 316L stainless steel obtained by additive manufacturing (AM). Surface defects and microstructure are dominant factors of fatigue behavior, while the AM materials often exhibit distinguished surface state and microstructure compared to conventional materials. The current study begins with an investigation of the material properties that are related to fatigue behavior. Microstructure observations of the powder and fabricated specimens are undertaken. Profilometry and tomography analyses make the inherent defects visible. The hardness, elastic behavior and elastic-plastic behavior are studied via mechanical tests. Then, load-controlled fatigue tests concerning different surface-treated specimens under different loading types are conducted. To reveal the mechanism of fatigue failure in the studied specimens, a comprehensive fractography analysis is carried out. Experimental research reveals the weakening of fatigue strength due to lack-of-fusion defects. Yet, the effect of the microstructural attributes is difficult to evaluate without numerical tools. A preliminary numerical study about the application of the non-local method in an explicit microstructure sensitive model is undertaken to complement the microstructure-sensitive modeling framework. Based on the data collected in the experimental campaign, a finite element model that can take into consideration of the defects and the microstructure of the SLM SS 316L is built up. Finite element analyses are performed with both cubic elasticity and polycrystal plasticity constitutive laws. With the help of the statistical method, the results from the FE model are used to quantitatively assess the influence of surface roughness and microstructural attributes on the fatigue performance of SLM SS 316L

Nel presente lavoro di tesi sono state affrontate le problematiche della realizzazione di canali di raffreddamento conformi per le matrici di estrusione di profilati in alluminio. In ambito tecnologico il problema termico è molto sentito nel settore, perché nei processi di estrusione a caldo le temperature in gioco e i gradienti termici influenzano sia la riuscita della lavorazione in termini di fattibilità e produttività, sia la durata stessa degli utensili. L’obiettivo di maggiore interesse è di ottenere un raffreddamento mirato delle matrici di estrusione, permettendo di asportare il calore dove serve, senza l’effetto controproducente sulla billetta in deformazione. La novità in ambito tecnologico arriva dalla possibilità di sfruttare le tecniche di additive manufacturing per la costruzione dei canali di raffreddamento, grazie ai suoi punti di forza in termini di possibilità realizzative di geometrie molto complesse e in sottosquadro. Lo studio degli effetti del raffreddamento delle matrici nel processo di estrusione è stato seguito con un'analisi numerica con un software multi-fisico che permette di effettuare simulazioni termo-strutturali accoppiate. Si sono visti i benefici del raffreddamento, ottenendo da un lato un’asportazione del calore mirata dell’inserto, dall’altro una diminuzione di temperatura della billetta all’uscita del profilo, senza causare eccessivi aumenti della forza di processo. Quindi è possibile ottimizzare i parametri per ottenere un aumento della velocità d’estrusione e quindi di produttività senza avere i difetti sul profilato tipici di eccessive temperature raggiunte. Sviluppi futuri del lavoro saranno la validazione del modello presentato con un’attenta campagna sperimentale. Sarà così possibile migliorare la precisione previsionale dell’analisi simulativa, ottenendo un efficace strumento di supporto alla progettazione delle matrici.

No
This paper presents the results of a recent comprehensive investigation of selective laser melting (slm) of prealloyed gas and water atomised M2 and H13 tool steel powders. The objective of the study was to establish the parameters that control the densification of single and multiple layers with the aim of producing high density parts without the need for infiltration. Powders were processed using continuous wave (CW) CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers. Relationships between alloy composition, powder particle size and shape, flowability, microstructure (phases present, their size, morphology and distribution), track morphology, post scanned density, surface finish and scan conditions (Laser power, spot size and scan speed) are discussed for single track, single layer and multi-layer (up to 25 layers) constructions. Processing with a Nd:YAG laser with powders placed on substrates rather than on a loose powder bed gave more stable builds than with the CO2 laser. Using the Nd:YAG laser densities up to ~90% relative were possible with H13 powder compared with a maximum of ~70% for M2 in multi-layer builds. Maximum density achieved with CW CO2 processing was only ~60%, irrespective of powder composition. The paper compares the processibility of these materials with stainless steel powders processed to higher densities (up to 99% relative) under similar conditions. The results of the work show that a crucial factor for high density processing is melt pool wettability and this is controlled largely by carbon content; low carbon contents producing better wettability, flatter tracks and higher densities. The significance of this observation for the processing high alloy steels by slm will be discussed.