On the Mechanical Behavior of LP-DED C103 Thin-Wall Structures

Abstract

Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED) can produce thin-wall features on the order of 1 mm. These features are essential for large structures operating in extreme environments such as regeneratively cooled nozzles and heat exchangers, which often make use of refractory metals. In this work, the mechanical behavior of LP-DED C103 was investigated via quasi-static tensile testing and low cycle fatigue (LCF) testing. The effects of vacuum stress relief (SR) and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) heat treatments were investigated for specimens in the vertical and horizontal build orientations during tensile testing. The AB and SR properties were lower than literature values for wrought and laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) bulk components but higher than electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF). The application of a HIP cycle improved strength by 7% and ductility by 27% past the initial as-built condition. Fracture images reveal that interlayer stress concentration sites are responsible for fracture in specimens in the vertical orientation. Meanwhile, fracture in the horizontal specimens mainly propagates at a slanted angle typical of plane stress conditions. The LCF results show cycles to failure ranging from 100 cycles to 8000 cycles for max strain levels of 2% and 0.5%, respectively. Fractography on the fatigue specimens reveals an increasing propagation zone as max strain levels are increased. The impact of these findings and future work are discussed in detail.