Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Advanced High-Strength Steels—Modification of Deformation Mechanisms by Increasing Stacking Fault Energy

Abstract

Within the field of Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS), high-manganese TRansformation-Induced Plasticity (TRIP) and TWinning-Induced Plasticity (TWIP) steels gained strong commercial interest with their outstanding mechanical properties. Previous studies have shown that Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) is a promising alternative to overcome shortcomings related to conventional processing routes of High-Manganese Steel (HMnS). The overall goal of this contribution is to adjust the typical deformation mechanisms of HMnS and therefore the mechanical properties by using powder blends. The deformation mechanisms are modified by adding elemental Al-powder to prealloyed X30Mn22-powder to increase the stacking fault energy (SFE). The various powder blends and produced samples are used for the microstructure analysis using OM, SEM, EBSD and EDX and the determination of mechanical properties by tensile tests.