Measuring temperatures in the material during laser metal deposition (LMD) has an inherent challenge caused by the laser. When thermocouples are radiated by the high intensity laser light overheating occurs which causes the thermocouple to fail. Another identified difficulty is that when the laser passes a thermocouple, emitted light heats the thermocouple to a higher temperature than the material actually experience. In order to cope with these challenges, a method of measuring temperatures during LMD of materials using protective sheets has been developed and evaluated as presented in this paper. The method has substantially decreased the risk of destroying the thermocouple wires during laser deposition. Measurements using 10 mm2 and 100 mm2 protective sheets have been compared. These measurements show small variations in the cooling time (∼0.1 s from 850°C to 500°C) between the small and large protective sheets which indicate a negligible effect on the temperature measurement. © 2016 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

This paper focuses on how process parameters affect the deposition of Alloy 718 onto an EN 1.4401 stainless steel substrate in terms of secondary phase formation, dilution and hardness. A columnar solidification structure with elongated grains growing in the direction normal to the substrate was observed for all parameters. In the interdendritic regions, phases with a high content of Niobium were identified. Scanning Electron Microscopy imaging and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy measurements revealed these phases to most likely be Laves phase and Nb-carbides. Temperature measurements indicated no significant aging in the deposits. Considerable enrichment of iron was found in the initially deposited layers due to dilution from the substrate. The increased content of iron seemed to aid in forming constituents rich in niobium which, in turn, influenced the hardness. The highest mean hardness was noted in the sample with the lowest area fraction of Nb-rich constituents.

Laser metal deposition (LMD) is an additive manufacturing method which is used to deposit material directly onto a metal surface layer upon layer until a final component is achieved. The material used in this study is the nickel iron based superalloy Alloy 718. There is a strong thermal gradient associated with this method which generally produces columnar grains growing in the build-up direction. The preferred solidification orientation of the FCC matrix is in the (001) direction which makes it possible to build directionally solidified structures with epitaxial grains growing through the layers. In this study LMD with powder as additive has been used to build thin walled samples, multiple layers high. The main objectives of this research are to assess the influence of the heat input on the grain structure in LMD builds and evaluate how the morphology and texture of the grains are affected by the changes in process parameters. Two different parameter sets are compared where a high and a low heat input have been used. The two samples with different heat inputs have been evaluated using a scanning electron microscope coupled to an electron back scatter diffraction detector in order to obtain quantitative grains size measurements as well as crystallographic information. It was shown that the grain structure was considerably affected by the heat input where the high heat input produced a strong texture with columnar grains growing in the build-up direction. With a low heat input the grains became finer and, although elongated, the grains became more equiaxed.

A microstructural study of Laser Metal Powder Deposition (LMPD) of Alloy 718, using a low (40 J/mm) and high (100 J/mm) heat inputs (HIs) was performed. The microstructure was characterized in as-deposited condition as well as after a standard heat-treatment, using optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Laves, MC-carbides, γ' and γ'' are observed in the interdendritic areas of both conditions. However, the dendritic core only consists of γ-matrix. The high HI condition shows a slightly larger Primary Dendrite Arm Spacing (PDAS) as compared to the low HI condition. Additionally, the particle size of the Nb-rich constituents in the interdendriticregions (Laves-phase and Niobium carbide) are larger in the high HI sample. After heat-treatment, the Laves phase dissolves and is replaced by δ-phase in the interdendritic regions, while γ', γ'' and MC-carbideremain in the interdendritic regions. However, the γ'' precipitates seems to be less developed in the dendritic core as compared to the interdendritic regions, especially in the high HI sample. This can be attributed to a heterogeneous distribution of Nb in the microstructure, with a lower Nb content in the dendritic core as compared to close to the interdendritic regions.

Cracking in Alloy 718 using laser metal powder deposition has been evaluated in this study. It is found that the material is susceptible to cracking when the laser power is high, the scanning speed is high and the powder feeding rate is low. Almost all the cracks are located close to the center of the deposited wall and propagates in the normal direction to the substrate. Evidence of liquation are found at the cracked surfaces and since all cracks reside in regions which are reheated several times, the cracks are determined to mostlikely be heat affected zone liquation cracks. The influence of respective process parameter was evaluated using a design of experiment approach. It is shown that, when the powder feeding rate is incorporated as avariable, the heat input is not a suitable indicator for the hot cracking susceptibility in laser metal powder deposition of Alloy 718. A combinatory model using the power ratio together with the heat input is therefore proposed.