The effect of the laser beam diameter on the microstructure and hardness of 17-4 PH stainless steel manufactured via the directed energy deposition process is investigated. The pore size and area fraction are much lower using a laser beam diameter of 1.0 mm compared with those observed using a laser beam diameter of 1.8 mm. Additionally, using a relatively larger beam diameter results in pores in the form of incomplete melting. Martensite and retained austenite are observed under both conditions. A smaller width of the weld track and overlapping area are observed in the sample fabricated with a 1.0 mm beam diameter. This difference appears to be mainly caused by the energy density based on the variation in the beam diameter. The sample prepared with a beam diameter of 1.0 mm had a higher hardness near the substrate than that prepared with a 1.8 mm beam diameter, which may be influenced by the degree of melt mixing between the 17-4 PH metal powder and carbon steel substrate.

인류 문명은 재료의 발달과 함께 진화를 해왔으며 20세기 후반부터 등장한 스마트재료는 외부 환경에 맞춰 스스로 적응을 하는 재료이다. 많은 종류의 스마트재료 중 대표물질이라고 할 수 있는 형상기억합금은 온도에 반응하여 자가 치유효과 를 볼 수 있는 재료이다. 외부 하중에 의한 변형을 자가치유 효과를 사용하여 회복을 하고자 하는 연구는 계속되어 왔지만 온 도의 변화를 구조물 전체적으로 줘야한다는 많은 불편이 있었다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 이 효과를 증진하여 상온에서도 자가 치유효과를 할 수 있는 초탄성 형상기억합금을 이용한다. 구조물에 있어서의 초탄성 형상기억합금의 능력을 스테인리스강과 함 께 비교하고 비교를 위해 강재가 가장 변형되기 쉬운 형태인 와이어형태로 가공하여 다양한 인장실험을 진행한다. 인장실험의 종류는 총 3가지로 변위를 다르게, 인장속도를 다르게, 선 인장력을 다르게 하는 실험으로 진행된다. 이때의 응력, 변형률간의 그래프를 그리고 잔류변형, 재료의 항복점 및 회복, 에너지 소산과 같은 구조물에 있어서의 재료적 능력을 파악하고 따로 그래 프를 도식화 하여 해석하였다.

In this study, we have prepared a Ti-6Al-4V/V/17-4 PH composite structure via a direct energy deposition process, and analyzed the interfaces using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The joint interfaces comprise two zones, one being a mixed zone in which V and 17-4PH are partially mixed and another being a fusion zone in the 17-4PH region which consists of Fe+FeV. It is observed that the power of the laser used in the deposition process affects the thickness of the mixed zone. When a 210 W laser is used, the thickness of the mixed zone is wider than that obtained using a 150 W laser, and the interface resembles a serrated shape. Moreover, irrespective of the laser power used, the expected  phase is found to be absent in the V/17-4 PH stainless steel joint; however, many VN precipitates are observed.

This study investigates the effect of process stopping and restarting on the microstructure and local nanoindentation properties of 316L stainless steel manufactured via selective laser melting (SLM). We find that stopping the SLM process midway, exposing the substrate to air having an oxygen concentration of 22% or more for 12 h, and subsequently restarting the process, makes little difference to the density of the restarted area (~ 99.8%) as compared to the previously melted area of the substrate below. While the microstructure and pore distribution near the stop/restart area changes, this modified process does not induce the development of unusual features, such as an inhomogeneous microstructure or irregular pore distribution in the substrate. An analysis of the stiffness and hardness values of the nano-indented steel also reveals very little change at the joint of the stop/restart area. Further, we discuss the possible and effective follow-up actions of stopping and subsequently restarting the SLM process.

This article suggests the machine learning model, i.e., classifier, for predicting the production quality of free-machining 303-series stainless steel(STS303) small rolling wire rods according to the operating condition of the manufacturing process. For the development of the classifier, manufacturing data for 37 operating variables were collected from the manufacturing execution system(MES) of Company S, and the 12 types of derived variables were generated based on literature review and interviews with field experts. This research was performed with data preprocessing, exploratory data analysis, feature selection, machine learning modeling, and the evaluation of alternative models. In the preprocessing stage, missing values and outliers are removed, and oversampling using SMOTE(Synthetic oversampling technique) to resolve data imbalance. Features are selected by variable importance of LASSO(Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) regression, extreme gradient boosting(XGBoost), and random forest models. Finally, logistic regression, support vector machine(SVM), random forest, and XGBoost are developed as a classifier to predict the adequate or defective products with new operating conditions. The optimal hyper-parameters for each model are investigated by the grid search and random search methods based on k-fold cross-validation. As a result of the experiment, XGBoost showed relatively high predictive performance compared to other models with an accuracy of 0.9929, specificity of 0.9372, F1-score of 0.9963, and logarithmic loss of 0.0209. The classifier developed in this study is expected to improve productivity by enabling effective management of the manufacturing process for the STS303 small rolling wire rods.

This study suggests a machine learning model for predicting the production quality of free-machining 303-series stainless steel small rolling wire rods according to the manufacturing process's operation condition. The operation condition involves 37 features such as sulfur, manganese, carbon content, rolling time, and rolling temperature. The study procedure includes data preprocessing (integration and refinement), exploratory data analysis, feature selection, machine learning modeling. In the preprocessing stage, missing values and outlier are removed, and variables for the interaction between processes and quality influencing factors identified in existing studies are added. Features are selected by variable importance index of lasso regression, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and random forest models. Finally, logistic regression, support vector machine, random forest, and XGBoost is developed as a classifier to predict good or defective products with new operating condition. The hyper-parameters for each model are optimized using k-fold cross validation. As a result of the experiment, XGBoost showed relatively high predictive performance compared to other models with accuracy of 0.9929, specificity of 0.9372, F1-score of 0.9963 and logarithmic loss of 0.0209. In this study, the quality prediction model is expected to be able to efficiently perform quality management by predicting the production quality of small rolling wire rods in advance.

Martensitic stainless steel is commonly used in the medical implant instrument. The alloy has drawbacks in terms of strength and wear properties when applied to instruments with sharp parts. 440C STS alloy, with improved durability, is an alternative to replace 420 J2 STS. In the present study, the carbide precipitation, and mechanical and corrosion properties of STS 440C alloy are studied as a function of different heat treatments. The STS 440C alloy is first austenitized at different temperatures; this is immediately followed by oil quenching and sub-zero treatment. After sub-zero treatment, the alloy is tempered at low temperatures. The microstructures of the heat treated STS 440C alloy consist of martensite and retained austenite and carbides. Using EDX and SADP with a TEM, the precipitated carbides are identified as a Cr23C6 carbide with a size of 1 to 2 μm. The hardness of STS 440C alloy is improved by austenitization at 1,100 oC with sub-zero treatment and tempering at 200 oC. The values of Ecorr and Icorr for STS 440C increase with austenitization temperature. Results can be explained by the dissolution of Cr-carbide and the increase in the retained austenite. Sub-zero treatment followed by tempering shows a little difference in the properties of potentiodynamic polarizations.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a highly innovative method for joining dissimilar materials for industrial applications. In the present work, AM of STS630 and Ti-6Al-4V powder alloys on medium entropy alloys (MEAs) NiCrCo and NiCrCoMn is studied. The STS630 and Ti64 powders are deposited on the MEAs. Joint delamination and cracks are observed after the deposition of Ti64 on the MEAs, whereas the deposition of STS630 on the MEAs is successful, without any cracks and joint delamination. The microstructure around the fusion zone interface is characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Intermetallic compounds are formed at the interfacial regions of MEA-Ti64 samples. In addition, Vicker’s hardness value increased dramatically at the joint interface between MEAs and Ti-6Al-4V compared to that between MEAs and STS630. This result is attributed to the brittle nature of the joint, which can lead to a decrease in the joint strength.

Thermal management is a critical issue for the development of high-performance electronic devices. In this paper, thermal conductivity values of mild steel and stainless steel(STS) are measured by light flash analysis(LFA) and dynamic thermal interface material(DynTIM) Tester. The shapes of samples for thermal property measurement are disc type with a diameter of 12.6 mm. For samples with different thickness, the thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity are measured by LFA. For identical samples, the thermal resistance(Rth) and thermal conductivity are measured using a DynTIM Tester. The thermal conductivity of samples with different thicknesses, measured by LFA, show similar values in a range of 5 %. However, the thermal conductivity of samples measured by DynTIM Tester show widely scattered values according to the application of thermal grease. When we use the thermal grease to remove air gaps, the thermal conductivity of samples measured by DynTIM Tester is larger than that measured by LFA. But, when we did not use thermal grease, the thermal conductivity of samples measured by DynTIM Tester is smaller than that measured by LFA. For the DynTIM Tester results, we also find that the slope of the graph of thermal resistance vs. thickness is affected by the usage of thermal grease. From this, we are able to conclude that the wide scattering of thermal conductivity for samples measured with the DynTIM Tester is caused by the change of slope in the graph of thermal resistance-thickness.

Selective laser melting (SLM), a type of additive manufacturing (AM) technology, leads a global manufacturing trend by enabling the design of geometrically complex products with topology optimization for optimized performance. Using this method, three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided design (CAD) data components can be built up directly in a layer-by-layer fashion using a high-energy laser beam for the selective melting and rapid solidification of thin layers of metallic powders. Although there are considerable expectations that this novel process will overcome many traditional manufacturing process limits, some issues still exist in applying the SLM process to diverse metallic materials, particularly regarding the formation of porosity. This is a major processing-induced phenomenon, and frequently observed in almost all SLM-processed metallic components. In this study, we investigate the mechanical anisotropy of SLM-produced 316L stainless steel based on microstructural factors and highly-oriented porosity. Tensile tests are performed to investigate the microstructure and porosity effects on mechanical anisotropy in terms of both strength and ductility.

The microstructure and mechanical characteristics of SUS630 specimens fabricated using the direct energy deposition (DED) process are investigated. In DED, several process parameters such as laser scan speed, chamber gas flow, powder carrier gas flow, and powder feed rate are kept fixed; the laser power is changed as 150 W, 180 W, and 210 W. As the laser power increases, the surface becomes smooth, the thickness uniformity improves, and the size and number of pores decreases. With the increase in laser power, the hardness deviation decreases and the average hardness increases. The microstructure of the material is columnar; pores are formed preferentially along the columnar interface. The lath-martensite phase governs the overall microstructure. The volumetric fraction of the retained austenite phase is measured to increase with the increase of laser input power.

Evaluation of the durability and stability of materials used in power plants is of great importance because parts or components for turbines, heat exchangers and compressors are often exposed to extreme environments such as high temperature and pressure. In this work, high-temperature corrosion behavior of 316 L stainless steel in a carbon dioxide environment was studied to examine the applicability of a material for a supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle as the next generation power plant system. The specimens were exposed in a high-purity carbon dioxide environment at temperatures ranging from 500 to 800 oC during 1000 hours. The features of the corroded products were examined by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope, and the chemical compound was determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that while the 316 L stainless steel had good corrosion resistance in the range of 500-700 oC in the carbon dioxide environment, the corrosion resistance at 800 oC was very poor due to chipping the corroded products off, which resulted in a considerable loss in weight.

In this study, STS316L powders prepared by gas atomization are used to manufacture bulk structures with dimensions of 10 × 10 × 10 mm3 using selective laser melting (SLM). The microstructures and hardness of the fabricated 316L stainless steel has been investigated with the laser beam overlap varied from 10% to 70%. The microstructures of the fabricated STS316L samples show a decrease in the balling and satellite of powders introducing defect in the bulk samples and the porosity caused by the gap between the molten metal pools disappearing as the overlap ratio increases, whereas a low overlap ratio results in significant balling and a large amount of isolated powders due to the increased gap between the melt pools. Furthermore, the highest value in Vickers hardness is obtained for the sample fabricated by 30% overlapped laser beams. These results show that the overlap ratio of laser beams in the SLM process should be considered as an important process parameter.

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of W substitution on the precipitation behavior of χ and σ phases in super duplex stainless steel. The χ phase was precipitated at the interface of ferrite / austenite phases and inside the ferrite phase at the initial stage of aging. With an increase in the aging time, the volume fraction of the χ phase increased, and then decreased with the transformation from the χ phase to the σ phase. The σ phase was precipitated later than the χ phase, and the volume fraction of x phase increased with the increase in the aging time. The ferrite phase was decomposed into the new austenite (γ2) and σ phases by aging treatment. The decomposition of the ferrite phase into the γ2 and σ phases was retarded by W substitution for Mo. The volume fraction of the χ phase increased and that of the σ phase decreased due to W substitution. The χ and σ phases were intermetallic compounds, which had lower nickel concentration, and higher chromium, molybdenum, and tungsten concentrations. The χ phase has higher molybdenum and tungsten concentrations than those of the σ phase. The amounts of chromium and nickel in the χ and σ phases did not change, but these phases have higher concentrations of molybdenum and tungsten due to W substitution for Mo.

In this study, nitrogen ions were implanted into STS 316L austenitic stainless steel by plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) to improve the corrosion resistance. The implantation of nitrogen ions was performed with bias voltages of −5, −10, −15, and −20 kV. The implantation time was 240 min and the implantation temperature was kept at room temperature. With nitrogen implantation, the corrosion resistance of 316 L improved in comparison with that of the bare steel. The effects of nitrogen ion implantation on the electrochemical corrosion behavior of the specimen were investigated by the potentiodynamic polarization test, which was conducted in a 0.5 M H2SO4 solution at 70 oC. The phase evolution and texture caused by the nitrogen ion implantation were analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer. It was demonstrated that the samples implanted at lower bias voltages, i.e., 5 kV and 10 kV, showed an expanded austenite phase, γN, and strong (111) texture morphology. Those samples exhibited a better corrosion resistance.

본 연구에서는 스테인리스강을 사용하여 전형적인 3-전극 시스템의 순환전류전압법으로 트리에탄올아민(TEA) 용액 중에서 전류-전압 곡선을 측정하였다. 스테인리스강은 작업 전극으로, Ag/AgCl 전극은 기준 전극으로, 그리고 백금 선은 상대 전극으로 각각 사용하였고, 그 결과, 트리에탄올아민 용액에서의 스테인리스강의 C-V 특성은 순환전류전압법으로부터 산화전류에 기인한 비가역 공정으로 나타났다. 부식억제제의 확산계수의 효과는 농도 증가에 따라 감소하였다. 그리고 부식억제 효과는 농도 0.5 N의 NaClO4, 2.5x10-3 M TEA용액에서 가장 컸으며, 1.5 N NaClO4, 1.0x10-3 M TEA용액에서 가장 낮았다.

Fatigue crack growth rate tests were conducted as a function of temperature, dissolved hydrogen (DH) level, and frequency in a simulated PWR environment. Fatigue crack growth rates increased slightly with increasing temperature in air. However, the fatigue crack growth rate did not change with increasing temperature in PWR water conditions. The DH levels did not affect the measured crack growth rate under the given test conditions. At 316 oC, oxides were observed on the fatigue crack surface, where the size of the oxide particles was about 0.2 μm at 5 ppb. Fatigue crack growth rate increased slightly with decreasing frequency within the frequency range of 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz in PWR water conditions; however, crack growth rate increased considerably at 0.01 Hz. The decrease of the fatigue crack growth rate in PWR water condition is attributed to crack closure resulting from the formation of oxides near the crack tips at a rather fast loading frequency of 10 Hz.