Computational and Experimental Study of the Microstructure Evolution of Inconel 625 Processed by Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Abstract

This study aims to improve the Additive Manufacturing (AM) design space for the popular multi-component Ni alloy Inconel 625 (IN625) thorough investigating the microstructural evolution, namely the solidification microstructure and the solid-state phase transformations during the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) process. Highly non-equilibrium solidification and the complex reheating conditions during the LPBF process result in the formation of various types of solidification microstructures and grain morphologies which consequently lead to a wide range of mechanical properties. Understanding the melt’s thermal conditions, alloy chemistry, and thermodynamics during the rapid solidification and solid-state phase transformation in AM process will help to control material properties and even produce a material with specific microstructural features suited to a given application. This research helps to better understand the process-microstructure-property relationships of LPBF IN625. First, a set of simple but effective analytical solidification models were employed to evaluate their ability to predict the solidification microstructure in AM applications. As a case study, Solidification Microstructure Selection (SMS) maps were created to predict the solidification growth mode and grain morphology of a ternary Al-10Si-0.5Mg alloy manufactured by the LPBF process. The resulting SMS maps were validated against the experimentally obtained LPBF microstructure available in the literature for this alloy. The challenges, limitations, and potential of the SMS map method to predict the microstructural features in AM were comprehensively discussed. Second, The SMS map method was implemented to predict the solidification microstructure and grain morphology in an LPBF-built multi-component IN625 alloy. A single-track LPBF experiment was performed utilizing the EOSINT M280 machine to evaluate the SMS map predictions. The resulting microstructure was characterized both qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of the solidification microstructure, grain morphology, and Primary Dendrite Arm Spacing (PDAS). Comparing the experimentally obtained solidification microstructure to the SMS map prediction, it was found that the solidification mode and grain morphology were correctly predicted by the SMS maps. Although the formation of precipitates was predicted using the CALculation of PHAse Diagrams (CALPHAD) approach, it was not anticipated from the analytical solution results. Third, to further investigate the microsegregation and precipitation in IN625, Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) using Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), High-Angle Annular Dark-Field Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (HAADF-STEM), Scheil-Gulliver (with solute trapping) model, and DIffusion-Controlled TRAnsformations (DICTRA) method were employed. It was found that the microstructural morphology mainly consists of the Nickel-Chromium (gamma-FCC) dendrites and a small volume fraction of precipitates embedded into the interdendritic regions. The precipitates predicted with the computational method were compared with the precipitates identified via HAADF-STEM analysis inside the interdendritic region. The level of elemental microsegregation was overestimated in DICTRA simulations compared to the STEM-EDS results; however, a good agreement was observed between the Scheil and STEM-EDS microsegregation estimations. Finally, the spatial variations in mechanical properties and the underlying microstructural heterogeneity of a multi-layer as-built LPBF part were investigated to complete the process-structure-properties relationships loop of LPBF IN625. Towards this end, numerical thermal simulation, electron microscopy, nano hardness test, and a CALPHAD approach were utilized to investigate the mechanical and microstructural heterogeneity in terms of grain size and morphology, PDAS, microsegregation pattern, precipitation, and hardness along the build direction. It was found that the as-built microstructure contained mostly columnar (Nickel–Chromium) dendrites were growing epitaxially from the substrate along the build direction. The hardness was found to be minimum in the middle and maximum in the bottom layers of the build’s height. Smaller melt pools, grains, and PDAS and higher thermal gradients and cooling rates were observed in the bottom layers compared to the top layers. Microsegregation patterns in multiple layers were also simulated using DICTRA, and the results were compared with the STEM-EDS results. The mechanism of the formation of precipitates in different regions along the build direction and the precipitates’ corresponding effects on the mechanical properties were also discussed.