This study explores the profound impact of varying oxygen content on microstructural and mechanical properties in specimens HO and LO. The higher oxygen concentration in specimen HO is found to significantly influence alpha lath sizes, resulting in a size of 0.5-1 μm, contrasting with the 1-1.5 μm size observed in specimen LO. Pore fraction, governed by oxygen concentration, is high in specimen HO, registering a value of 0.11%, whereas specimen LO exhibits a lower pore fraction (0.02%). Varied pore types in each specimen further underscore the role of oxygen concentration in shaping microstructural morphology. Despite these microstructural variations, the average hardness remains consistent at ~370 HV. This study emphasizes the pivotal role of oxygen content in influencing microstructural features, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay between elemental composition and material properties.

An irradiation hardening of Inconel 718 produced by selective laser melting (SLM) was studied based on the microstructural observation and mechanical behavior. Ion irradiation for emulating neutron irradiation has been proposed owing to advantages such as low radiation emission and short experimental periods. To prevent softening caused by the dissolution of ' and '' precipitates due to irradiation, only solution annealing (SA) was performed. SLM SA Inconel 718 specimen was ion irradiated to demonstrate the difference in microstructure and mechanical properties between the irradiated and non-irradiated specimens. After exposing specimens to Fe3+ ions irradiation up to 100 dpa (displacement per atom) at an ambient temperature, the hardness of irradiated specimens was measured by nanoindentation as a function of depth. The depth distribution profile of Fe3+ and dpa were calculated by the Monte Carlo SRIM (Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter)-2013 code under the assumption of the displacement threshold energy of 40 eV. A transmission electron microscope was utilized to observe the formation of irradiation defects such as dislocation loops. This study reveals that the Frank partial dislocation loops induce irradiation hardening of SLM SA Inconel 718 specimens.

The CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy (HEA), which is the most widely known HEA with a single facecentered cubic structure, has attracted significant academic attention over the past decade owing to its outstanding multifunctional performance. Recent studies have suggested that CoCrFeMnNi-type HEAs exhibit excellent printability for selective laser melting (SLM) under a wide range of process conditions. Moreover, it has been suggested that SLM can not only provide great topological freedom of design but also exhibit excellent mechanical properties by overcoming the strength–ductility trade-off via producing a hierarchical heterogeneous microstructure. In this regard, the SLM-processed CoCrFeMnNi HEA has been extensively studied to comprehensively understand the mechanisms of microstructural evolution and resulting changes in mechanical properties. In this review, recent studies on CoCrFeMnNi-type HEAs produced using SLM are discussed with respect to process-induced microstructural evolution and the relationship between hierarchical heterogeneous microstructure and mechanical properties.

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.

Ti-6Al-4V alloy has a wide range of applications, ranging from turbine blades that require smooth surfaces for aerodynamic purposes to biomedical implants, where a certain surface roughness promotes biomedical compatibility. Therefore, it would be advantageous if the high volumetric density is maintained while controlling the surface roughness during the LPBF of Ti-6Al-4V. In this study, the volumetric energy density is varied by independently changing the laser power and scan speed to document the changes in the relative sample density and surface roughness. The results where the energy density is similar but the process parameters are different are compared. For comparable energy density but higher laser power and scan speed, the relative density remained similar at approximately 99%. However, the surface roughness varies, and the maximum increase rate is approximately 172%. To investigate the cause of the increased surface roughness, a nonlinear finite element heat transfer analysis is performed to compare the maximum temperature, cooling rate, and lifetime of the melt pool with different process parameters.

In this study, an AISI 316 L alloy was manufactured using a selective laser melting (SLM) process. The tensile and impact toughness properties of the SLM AISI 316 L alloy were examined. In addition, stress relieving heat treatment (650oC / 2 h) was performed on the as-built SLM alloy to investigate the effects of heat treatment on the mechanical properties. In the as-built SLM AISI 316 L alloy, cellular dendrite and molten pool structures were observed. Although the molten pool did not disappear following heat treatment, EBSD KAM analytical results confirmed that the fractions of the low- and high-angle boundaries decreased and increased, respectively. As the heat treatment was performed, the yield strength decreased, but the tensile strength and elongation increased only slightly. Impact toughness results revealed that the impact energy increased by 33.5% when heat treatment was applied. The deformation behavior of the SLM AISI 316 L alloy was also examined in relation to the microstructure through analyses of the tensile and impact fracture surfaces.

Additively manufactured metallic components contain high surface roughness values, which lead to unsatisfactory high cycle fatigue resistance. In this study, high cycle fatigue properties of selective laser melted Ti-6Al- 4V alloy are investigated and the effect of dry-electropolishing, which does not cause weight loss, on the fatigue resistance is also examined. To reduce the internal defect in the as-built Ti-6Al-4V, first, hot isostatic pressing (HIP) is conducted. Then, to improve the mechanical properties, solution treatment and aging are also implemented. Selective laser melting (SLM)-built Ti64 shows a primary α and secondary α+β lamellar structure. The sizes of secondary α and β are approximately 2 μm and 100 nm, respectively. On the other hand, surface roughness Ra values of before and after dry-electropolishing are 6.21 μm and 3.15 μm, respectively. This means that dry-electropolishing is effective in decreasing the surface roughness of selective laser melted Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The comparison of high cycle fatigue properties between before and after dry-electropolished samples shows that reduced surface roughness improves the fatigue limit from 150 MPa to 170 MPa. Correlations between surface roughness and high cycle fatigue properties are also discussed based on these findings.

In this study, Al-Si-Mg alloys are additively manufactured using a selective laser melting (SLM) process from AlSi10Mg powders prepared from a gas-atomization process. The processing parameters such as laser scan speed and laser power are investigated for 3D printing of Al-Si-Mg alloys. The laser scan speeds vary from 100 to 2000 mm/ s at the laser power of 180 and 270W, respectively, to achieve optimized densification of the Al-Si-Mg alloy. It is observed that the relative density of the Al-Si-Mg alloy reaches a peak value of 99% at 1600 mm/s for 180W and at 2000 mm/s for 270W. The surface morphologies of the both Al-Si-Mg alloy samples at these conditions show significantly reduced porosities compared to those of other samples. The increase in hardness of as-built Al-Si-Mg alloy with increasing scan speed and laser power is analyzed due to high relative density. Furthermore, it was found that cooling conditions after the heat-treatment for homogenization results in the change of dispersion status of Si phases in the Al-Si matrix but also affects tensile behaviors of Al-Si-Mg alloys. These results indicate that combination between SLM processing parameters and post-heat treatment should be considered a key factor to achieve optimized Al-Si alloy performance.

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.

In this study, two types of SKD61 tool-steel samples are built by a selective laser melting (SLM) process using the different laser scan speeds. The characteristics of two kinds of SKD61 tool-steel powders used in the SLM process are evaluated. Commercial SKD61 tool-steel power has a flowability of 16.68 sec/50 g and its Hausner ratio is calculated to be 1.25 by apparent and tapped density. Also, the fabricated SKD61 tool steel powder fabricated by a gas atomization process has a flowability of 21.3 sec/50 g and its Hausner ratio is calculated to be 1.18. Therefore, we confirmed that the two powders used in this study have excellent flowability. Samples are fabricated to measure mechanical properties. The highest densities of the SKD61 tool-steel samples, fabricated under the same conditions, are 7.734 g/cm³ (using commercial SKD61 powder) and 7.652 g/cm3 (using fabricated SKD61 powder), measured with Archimedes method. Hardness is measured by Rockwell hardness testing equipment 5 times and the highest hardnesses of the samples are 54.56 HRC (commercial powder) and 52.62 HRC (fabricated powder). Also, the measured tensile strengths are approximately 1,721 MPa (commercial SKD61 powder) and 1,552 MPa (fabricated SKD61 powder), respectively.

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.