A comparative study of Inconel 718 formed by High Deposition Rate Laser Metal Deposition with GA powder and PREP powder

Abstract

A comparative study on the metallurgical properties and material microstructures of Inconel 718 (IN718) deposited by High Deposition Rate Laser Metal Deposition (HDR-LMD) using Gas Atomization (GA) and Plasma-rotating Electrode Process (PREP) powders has been carried out. Initially, powders of same nominal particle size produced by different methods were selected and the chemical composition, porosity and morphology of which have been characterized. After that, parallel experiments have been designed and performed, and the metallurgical properties and material microstructures have been analyzed. It is found: compared to IN718 deposited with PREP powder, material formed by GA powder has higher porosity and higher dilution zone whereas finer dendrite structure, lower Nb element segregation and lower volume fraction of Laves phase. In order to figure out the reasons, the mechanisms of pores formation, the laser energy allocation, heat dissipation and solidification of the processes using different powders have been qualitative and quantitative analyzed. It concludes: the high porosity of GA IN718 is due to that more gas has been drawn into the process because of the characteristics of GA powder; the microstructures of GA IN718 is superior to that of PREP powder, showing finer dendrite structure, lower Nb segregation and lower Laves phase fraction, which is due to its higher cooling rate.