Microstructure, compressive performance and wear resistance of pure molybdenum additively manufactured via laser powder bed fusion

Abstract

Pure molybdenum (Mo) additively manufactured via laser powder bed fusion is challenging due to its high laser reflectivity and sensitivity to cracking. To achieve crack-free pure Mo alloy and enhance production efficiency, this study employs a high-power (350 W) printing process with a layer thickness of 30 μm, resulting in the successful fabrication of pure Mo with a relative density of 99.2%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) revealed that the pure Mo specimens prepared by LPBF process exhibited different preferential grain orientations and lattice distortions in various building directions, with higher texture strength on the XOZ plane and greater lattice distortion on the XOY plane. The hardness of the pure Mo specimens reached 208 HV, with uniaxial compressive strength and elongation at 535 MPa and 20.9%, respectively, surpassing existing literature values by 37.2% and 8.0%. Furthermore, the dry friction behavior and mechanism of LPBF-manufactured pure molybdenum were investigated for the first time and compared to traditional powder metallurgy. Consequently, this research offers valuable insights for manufacturing crack-free LPBF pure molybdenum components with 30 μm layer thickness, boasting superior mechanical and wear resistance.