Electron beam melting (EBM) of Alloy 718 is of rapidly growing interest as it allows cost-effective production of complex components. However, the inherent flaws in the component in as-built state are of concern in view of the severe working conditions in which Alloy 718 components typically operate. The present work entails an investigation of changes in microstructure that accompany some post-treatments that are being widely considered to address defects in EBM processed Alloy 718. The effect of two different post-treatments, namely hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and a combined HIP + heat treatment (HT) carried out inside the HIP vessel, have been studied and results from as-built and post-treated specimens were compared in terms of porosity/lack-of-fusion, microstructure, phase constitution (NbC content, ÎŽ-phase) and micro-hardness. Post-treatment resulted in reduction in defect content by more than an order of magnitude. HIPing led to complete dissolution of ÎŽ phase. In comparison to as-built material, HIPed specimens exhibited significant drop in hardness. However, a sharp ‘recovery’ of hardness to yield values higher than in as-built condition was observed after HIP + HT and can be attributed to precipitation of γ′′ phase. © 2018, The Author(s).

Constitutive modeling is a crucial approach for understanding and predicting material behavior under ballistic impact, high-speed cutting, and hot metal deformation. To develop an appropriate constitutive model in this study, dynamic compression tests are conducted at various strain rates (700 s-1 to 1700 s-1) and deformation temperatures (298 K to 823 K) on C250 maraging steel by using the direct impact Hopkinson pressure bar technique. The experimental findings elucidate the coupled influences of strain rate and strain, as well as strain rate and temperature, on the dynamic compressive behavior of C250 maraging steel. To accurately predict the flow behavior of C250 maraging steel under different strain rates and deformation temperatures, this study develops modified Johnson-Cook models, which draw from both experimental data and the original Johnson-Cook model. Unlike the original model, the modified model accounts for the coupled effects of strain rate and strain, as well as strain rate and temperature. Consequently, the predicted flow stresses by the modified Johnson-Cook models are in excellent agreement with the observed flow behavior of C250 maraging steel, compared to the original model. Furthermore, verification tests that are used to evaluate the predictive capabilities of the model under new dynamic compression conditions confirm its ability to accurately predict the flow behavior of C250 maraging steel under various conditions.  

The heat generated during EDM melts the work material and thereby allows large amounts to be removed,but an unfavorable surface of a recast layer (RCL) will also be created. This layer has entirely different properties compared to the bulk. Hence, it is of great interest to efficiently remove this layer and to verify that it has been removed. The main objective of this work has been to study the efficiency of grit blasting forremoval of RCL on an EDM aero space shaft. Additionally, x-ray fluorescence (XRF) has been evaluated asa nondestructive measurement to determine RCL presence. The results show that the grit-blasting processing parameters have strong influence on the ability to remove RCL and at the same time introduce beneficial compressive stresses even after short exposure time. Longer exposure will remove the RCL fromthe surface but also increase the risk that a larger amount of the blasting medium will get stuck into the surface. This investigation shows that a short exposure time in combination with a short grit-blasting nozzle distance is the most preferable process setting. It was further found that handheld XRF equipment can be used as a nondestructive measurement in order to evaluate the amount of RCL present on an EDM surface.This was realized by analyzing the residual elements from the EDM wire.

Hydroturbine steels, such as 13Cr-4Ni martensitic steels, are generally subjected to heavy-erosive wear and loss of efficiency due to solid particulate entrainment in the water. Surface-modified steels have proven to give better performance in terms of erosive wear resistance. In the present study, an attempt is made to investigate the effect of angle of impingement and particle size on slurry-jet erosion behavior of pulsed plasma nitrided and laser hardened 13Cr-4Ni steels. Laser hardening process has shown good performance at all angles of impingement due to martensitic transformation of retained austenite. Plastic deformation mode of material removal was also an evident feature of all laser-hardened surface damage locations. However, pulsed-plasma nitrided steels have exhibited chip formation and micro-cutting mode of erosive wear. Erosion with 150-300 mu m size was twice compared to 150 mu m size slurry particulates.