Effect on microstructural and mechanical properties of Inconel 718 superalloy fabricated by selective laser melting with rescanning by low energy density

Abstract

In this study, the residual stress reduction through low energy density reheating method in selective laser melting (SLM) process and the correlation between microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. Inconel 718 superalloy specimens were manufactured via SLM and subjected to reheating (RH) strategies with different energy density, which was based on laser rescanning method. The microstructures were characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The microstructure was observed in the vertical section, parallel to the building direction. With a scanning speed decrease in the RH conditions, the low angle grain boundary (LAGB) and average misoriented region fraction progressively increased. RH conditions exhibited higher Vickers hardness, tensile strength, and yield strength than those of the as-built condition, which increased slightly when the scanning speed was increased. Thermal residual stress was generally higher at z-axis than that at the x-axis. The lowest residual stress value was observed in the highest scanning speed RH condition, and as the scanning speed decreased, it became similar to that of the as-built condition.

Keywords

• Selective laser melting
• Inconel 718
• Reheating
• Microstructure
• Residual stress