Effect of heat treatment on microstructure, precipitation behavior and mechanical properties of Inconel 718 fabricated by laser direct energy deposition

Abstract

The uncontrollable directional grain growth and non-equilibrium microstructure of Inconel 718 will form during laser direct energy deposition (LDED), which seriously limits the promotion and application, so it is necessary to consider the heat treatment to improve the microstructure and mechanical properties. In this paper, the effects adopting different heat treatments on the phase composition, precipitation behavior, grain structure, tensile and tribological properties of LDED Inconel 718 have been systematically investigated, with as-deposited samples compared. The results show that the number and size of γ″ phases can be significantly changed under different aging and solution conditions, and the strength and wear resistance increase while elongation decreases since the fine grain and precipitation strengthening occurring during heat treatment. By comparing the different samples, the SA1100A exhibits the highest yield and tensile strength, with 140.6% of yield strength and 83.9% of ultimate tensile strength increasing compared to as-deposited samples, also showing the narrowest wear mark width and the lowest average mass loss.