NbC Particles Research Articles

Micromechanical and Tribological Performance of Laser-Cladded Equiatomic FeNiCr Coatings Reinforced with TiC and NbC Particles.

This paper discusses a comparative micromechanical and tribological analysis of laser-cladded equiatomic FeNiCr coatings reinforced with TiC and NbC particles. Two types of coatings, FeNiCr-TiC (3 wt.% TiC) and FeNiCr-NbC (3 wt.% NbC), were deposited onto an AISI 1040 steel substrate by means of short-pulsed laser cladding. The chemical composition, microstructure, and micromechanical and tribological characteristics of the coatings were systematically investigated via optical and scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and mechanical and tribological tests. The average thicknesses and compositional transition zones of the coatings were 600 ± 20 μm and 150 ± 20 μm, respectively. Raman spectroscopy revealed that both coatings are primarily composed of a single FCC γ-phase (γ-FeNiCr). The FeNiCr + 3 wt.% TiC coating exhibited an additional TiC phase dispersed within the γ-FeNiCr matrix. In contrast, the FeNiCr + 3 wt.% NbC coating displayed a more homogeneous distribution of finely dispersed NbC phase throughout the composite, leading to enhanced mechanical behavior. Micromechanical characterization showed that the FeNiCr + 3 wt.% NbC coating possessed higher average microhardness (3.8 GPa) and elastic modulus (180 GPa) compared to the FeNiCr + 3 wt.% TiC coating, which had values of ~3.2 GPa and ~156 GPa, respectively. Both coatings significantly exceeded the AISI 1040 steel substrate in tribological performance. The FeNiCr + 3 wt.% TiC and FeNiCr + 3 wt.% NbC coatings exhibited substantial reductions in both weight loss (37% and 41%, respectively) and wear rate (33% and 42%, respectively) compared to the substrate material. These findings indicate that more finely dispersed NbC particles are better suited for hardening laser-cladded equiatomic FeNiCr-NbC coatings, making them advanced candidates for industrial applications.

Grain refining mechanism and strength-ductility trade-off of NbC-reinforced FeCoNiCrMn HEA

The strength-ductility trade-off has long challenged FCC-typed HEAs. This paper presents a NbC-reinforced FeCoNiCrMn HEA with ultra-fine grain and nano NbC particle. Its ultimate tensile strength and elongation are 853.7 ± 7.3 MPa and 57.8 ± 1.9 %, respectively. The combination of high temperature solid solution at 1180 °C, cold rolling, and low temperature annealing at 1050 °C contributes to the generation of nano-sized NbC particles on the high-density grain boundary (GB) and sub-GB of rolled microstructure. The almost uniformly distributed nano-sized NbC particles deeply hinders the grain growth and contributes to the ultra-fine grain of NbC-reinforced HEA. It sheds new insights into understanding the way to refine grain and precipitate of NbC-reinforced FCC-typed HEA and its effect on strength-ductility trade-off.

Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Nb‐Containing Medium‐Mn Low‐Density Steels

Microalloying of Nb has been commonly utilized to enhance the structure and mechanical properties of advanced high‐strength steel (AHSS), but its application in medium‐Mn low‐density steel has been relatively understudied. This study aims to investigate the evolution of nano‐scale precipitates and mechanical properties of Fe‐12Mn‐9Al‐3Cr‐1.4C‐0.02/0.04Nb low‐density steels. The findings reveal that the austenite grain size of 0.04Nb steels is approximately half that of 0.02Nb steels due to the precipitation of NbC particles. Moreover, the addition of Nb is found to elevate the formation energy of κ‐carbide, thereby impeding its growth and coarsening. Consequently, the intragranular κ‐carbides in 0.04Nb steels are consistently smaller than those in 0.02Nb steels, with no coarsened intergranular κ‐carbides detected in either steel variant after aging treatment at 723–823 K. Despite a slight reduction on precipitation strengthening of κ‐carbides with higher Nb content, the yield strength of 0.04Nb steels exceeds that of 0.02Nb steels by ≈71 MPa, mainly due to additional fine grain strengthening and dislocation strengthening. The strengthening mechanisms in the Nb‐containing low‐density steels are analyzed quantitatively. The role of Nb in regulating the microstructure and mechanical properties of medium‐Mn low‐density steels is comprehensively discussed, offering valuable insights for the alloy design of low‐density steel.

Concurrent dramatic enhancement of high-temperature strength and ductility in a high-entropy alloy via chain-like dual-carbides at grain boundaries

Grain boundaries (GBs) are often known as intergranular cracking sources in alloys at high temperatures, resulting in limited high-temperature strength and ductility. Here, we propose a GB-dual-carbide (denoted as GB-DC) strengthening strategy and have developed a high-performance (NiCoFeCr)99Nb0.5C0.5 high-entropy alloy (HEA) with exceptional strength-ductility synergy at 1073 K. Chain-like coherent M23C6 carbides have been successfully introduced at GBs and remain a cube parallel crystallographic orientation with the face-centered cubic (FCC) matrix during deformation. Nano-scale NbC particles are distributed alternatively between M23C6 carbides and inhibit their coarsening. Both strength and ductility of the GB-DC HEA increase dramatically at strain rates ranging from 10−4 to 10−2 s−1 at 1073 K, compared with those of the single-phase NiCoFeCr HEA. Specifically, yield strength of 142 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 283 MPa, and elongation of 34 % were obtained, which are twice that of the reference NiCoFeCr HEA (82 MPa, 172 MPa, and 18 %, respectively). EBSD investigations demonstrated that chain-like carbides enhance the GB cohesion at high temperature, and TEM analysis revealed that dislocations can go through the coherent phase boundaries (CPBs) and activate dipoles inner M23C6 carbides, which weakened the stress concentration in GBs. This substantially reduces the critical stress for dislocation generation and transmission to a stress level lower than that required for intergranular fracture. Theoretical estimation suggests that carbides result in a much higher activation energy (∼510 kJ/mol) for GB sliding and a rather low interface energy (∼101 mJ/m2) compared with the GB energy (1000 mJ/m2), which rationalizes the enhanced GB cohesion by carbides.

Effect of in-situ NbC content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ni625 composite coating by laser cladding

To improve the mechanical properties of Ni625 coatings, different contents of Nb powder and Ni-coated graphite particles were added to Ni625 powder for in-situ generation of NbC particles. The effects of different NbC contents on the microstructure, hardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance of Ni625 coatings were investigated. The results show that the highest XRD phase diffraction peaks of NbC in the coating are obtained with the addition of 15 % (Nb 9.9 %, Ni-coated graphite particles 5.1 %), and the coating exhibits a hardness of 441.9 HV, which is 1.53 times greater than that of the coating with the addition of 0 %. Furthermore, the wear coefficient (μ) of the coating is 0.4804, and the wear volume is 0.0042 mm3, representing a reduction of 23.5 % and 64.1 %, respectively, in comparison to the coating with 0 % additive. However, the coating with an addition of 20 % does not generate more NbC phase, and the hardness and wear resistance are not further improved. The coating with an addition of 10 % has the best corrosion resistance, with a corrosion current density of 2.1829E-10 A/cm2. Further additions do not result in an enhanced corrosion resistance of the coating. Therefore, appropriate amount of in-situ generation of NbC within the Ni625 coating during the laser cladding process can effectively enhance the mechanical properties of the Ni625 coating.

Microstructure and wear property of (TiN + NbC) double ceramic phase-reinforced in FeCrNiCoAl high-entropy alloy coating fabricated by laser cladding

This study delves into the influence of TiN and NbC ceramic particles on the phase structure, grain organization, microhardness, and wear resistance of FeCoNiCrAl High-Entropy Alloy (HEA) composite coatings produced through laser cladding. The integration of ceramic particles induced a dual BCC solid-solution phase structure (B2+BCC), with the formation of a TiNb phase upon the melting and interaction of TiN and NbC in the melt pool. The ceramic particles significantly modified the grain structure of the HEA coatings, disrupting the Columnar-to-Equiaxed Transition (CET) and favoring the emergence of equiaxed grains. The TiN particles induced a substantial refinement of grain size, albeit unevenly, while NbC had a milder effect. The combined presence of TiN and NbC particles resulted in a more uniform grain refinement, enhancing the mechanical properties of the coatings. Notably, the (TiN + NbC)/HEAs composite coating demonstrated superior mechanical performance under the synergistic effect of both ceramic particles. The average microhardness value increased by 55.80 % compared to 17-4Ph stainless steel, and the wear rate was reduced by 88.38 %, with the wear mechanism primarily involving abrasive and oxidative wear.

Excellent mechanical and damping properties simultaneously achieved in partially recrystallized Fe-Mn-Nb alloy

We propose a novel approach to tackle the intrinsic trade-off between the mechanical and damping properties of a cold-rolled Fe-17Mn-Nb alloy by tailoring the fraction, size and spatial distribution of recrystallized (Rexed) grains, the latter results from the initial micro-segregation of Mn during solidification because higher Mn content in the interdendritic region can promote more NbC particles dissolved for stronger retardation on Rex. An unprecedented combination of mechanical and damping properties, including ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 920 MPa and the logarithmic decrement of vibration amplitude (δ) of 0.082 (measured at the 0.1 % strain with 1 Hz), is achieved by forming the partially Rexed microstructure consisting of retained austenite (RA) grains and ε-martensite. The austenite grains that had been reverted from the high-Mn-content region could not Rex during the annealing at 700 °C and transformed to the coarse ε blocks with the dense dislocations during cooling, contributing to the strengthening; whilst those reverted from the low-Mn-content region Rexed and then transformed to the fine ε lamellas; contributing to the damping capacity. Therefore, the different UTS-δ synergies can be realized by controlling the fraction and size of Rexed grains during the annealing to meet the specific engineering requirement.

Refinement of Microstructure and Enhancement of Wear Resistance of Ni–Cr Cast Iron by NbC

This article investigates the influence of niobium addition on the microstructure and properties of Ni–Cr cast iron. In situ observations and analysis of phase precipitation during solidification are conducted through a high‐temperature laser scanning confocal microscope and Thermo‐Calc software. The refining mechanism of the microstructure and the enhancement of wear resistance by NbC are explored. The results indicate that with an increase in Nb content, the precipitation temperature of NbC particles gradually rises. When the niobium content exceeds 0.2%, NbC becomes the first precipitated phase during the solidification of the liquid phase. NbC particles can serve as heterogeneous nucleus for austenite, refining the grain structure of Ni–Cr cast iron. The existence of NbC particles within the grain impedes the elongation of martensite and bainite bundles while providing additional nucleation sites to accelerate the phase transformation. The grain refinement and the obstructive influence of NbC particles collectively induce a more disordered bainitic structure. Moreover, the exceptional hardness of NbC particles effectively safeguards the matrix from abrasion, consequently enhancing the wear resistance of Ni–Cr cast iron.

The first-principles and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations revealing the interface energy of the NbC/α-Fe

The low index interfacial configuration, interface energy and electronic properties of NbC/α-Fe are calculated using the first-principles method based on density functional theory and ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. Additionally, the NbC/α-Fe interface with the low index interfacial configuration is calculated by two-dimensional disregistry method. It is demonstrated that the Fe-C type has an interface energy of -1.553 J/m2 , the smallest interface energy and the most stable structure, therefore the Fe-C type is the most stable conformation of the NbC(001) /α-Fe(001). Strong orbital resonance phenomenon exists between Fe-3d, Nb-4d and C-2p, producing strong metallic and covalent bonds. The results of disregistry calculation by different interfacial structures of NbC/α-Fe shows that the disregistry of NbC(001)/α-Fe(001) crystalline surface is the smallest at 10.19%, which corresponds to the results of interface energy calculation. It can be shown that the α-Fe(001) is the optimal orientation surface of the NbC(001) . Herein, we have revealed the site-oriented and stable bonding mode relationship of NbC/α-Fe interface in steel, which provides important theoretical guidance to explore the mechanism of grain refinement of NbC particles in shipbuilding steels.

Effects of NbC addition on mechanical and tribological properties of AlCrFeNi medium-entropy alloy

AlCrFeNi medium-entropy alloy (MEA) without expensive Co has demonstrated superior properties over the well-known AlCoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy. We added NbC particles to the MEA to make NbC-reinforced MEA alloys or MEA-matrix composites, and evaluated their wear resistances and mechanical properties. The materials showed considerably improved performance. To well judge the NbC-MEA for realistic applications, the wear resistance of the NbC-MEA samples was compared with those of a few industrial wear-resistant materials, e.g., high-Cr cast iron (HCCI) and WC-Co composites. It was demonstrated that the MEA samples with 40–60 vol% NbC exhibited markedly higher wear resistance than the reference materials, and the MEA demonstrated high superiority over the widely used Co as the metal-matrix for developing wear-resistant metal-matrix composites (MMCs).

NbC reinforced FeMnCoCr high entropy alloy with excellent mechanical properties and wear resistance

In this paper, a NbC reinforced FeMnCoCr dual-phase high entropy alloy was used. After hot rolling, cold rolling and annealing, partial recrystallization sample and fully recrystallized fine-grained sample were obtained. The annealed samples are a single FCC phase, with micron-sized NbC particles of different shapes including columnar, granular and polygonal are distributed in the matrix. The yield strength of the partial recrystallization sample is 708 MPa, which was 1.4 times of the yield strength of the fine-grained sample, and the tensile elongation is 39.4%. The main reasons for the high yield strength of partially recrystallized samples is dislocation strengthening. The recrystallization volume fraction of partially recrystallized samples is 66.2%, and the un-recrystallization grains contain high dislocation density, and the increment of dislocation strengthening is 144 MPa. The work hardening rate of partially recrystallized samples is lower than that of fine-grained samples. Due to the high dislocation density in the partially recrystallized samples, there are fewer dislocations that can be activated and propagated during the tensile process. The high yield strength and the existence of a large number of micron-sized NbC make the NbC reinforced FeMnCoCr high entropy alloy have good wear resistance.

Preparation and Impact‐Abrasive Wear Behavior of NbC‐Reinforced Iron Matrix Composites

Workpieces in the field of mining machinery are prone to failure under the combined effect of impact and abrasive, causing serious economic losses to enterprises. In this study, both pure Fe matrix composites and NbC particle (NbCp)‐reinforced Fe composites (NbCp/Fe) samples are produced by vacuum‐sintering method, respectively, and their resistance to impact‐abrasive wear is tested on the impact‐abrasive wear rig. In the results, it is shown that the hardness of NbCp/Fe composite increases with the increase of NbCp mass fraction, and the density decreases when the mass fraction of NbCp is less than 7%. At this time, the homogeneity of the composite is higher; when the mass fraction of NbCp is greater than 7%, the standard deviation values of hardness and density are larger, fluctuate greatly, and have low uniformity, and agglomeration occurs within the organization; When the mass fraction of NbCp is 7%, composite possesses better comprehensive performance. The impact‐abrasive wear mechanism of the Fe matrix material primarily includes microcutting, impact plastic deformation, and fatigue spalling, which is a typical abrasive wear mechanism; the impact‐abrasive wear mechanisms of NbCp/Fe composites primarily comprise microcutting or micro‐plowing, impact plastic deformation, and fatigue spalling.

Achieving excellent mechanical properties and wear resistance in Fe49Mn30Co10Cr10C1 interstitial high-entropy alloy via tuning composition and stacking fault energy by Nb doping

In this study, the effects of Nb doping on the mechanical properties, deformation mechanism, and wear resistance of an Fe49Mn30Co10Cr10C1 interstitial high-entropy alloy (HEA) were studied. Adding 1 at.% Nb resulted in multi-scale NbC particles. The yield strength and elongation remained almost unchanged, and the wear rate was significantly reduced. The precipitation strengthening of nano-NbC particles offsets the decrease in interstitial strengthening. The formation of NbC particles consumed C, reduced the stacking fault energy (SFE) of the alloy, significantly enhanced the transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) effect, and offsets the deterioration effect of micron-sized NbC particles on plasticity. After adding Nb element, the volume fraction of strain-induced martensitic transformation in the tensile fracture increases from 13.2 % to 30.6 %. The wear mechanism of the two alloys under sliding wear conditions is mainly abrasive wear. Micron-sized NbC blocks the expansion of the groove and protects the matrix. In addition, the Nb-doped high-entropy alloy produced a thicker deformation ultrafine grain layer and a strain-induced phase transition layer below the wear track. The thicker deformation layer and micron-sized NbC particles reduced the wear rate by more than 23.1 %. The rationality of the existing method for calculating the wear rate with the unit load as a parameter was analyzed, and a new method with the unit maximum shear stress as a parameter is proposed.

Innovation in thermal cycling aging compared to isothermal aging for precipitation hardening stainless steel

The cyclic thermal process can assist and accelerate the kinetics of phase transformation. Conventional UNS S17400 grade stainless is characterized by a martensitic microstructure. After solution treatment, the steel was aged by thermal cycling between 600 °C and 25 °C and quenched in water in each cycle, completing under the self-designed system. The nano precipitates of very fine copper particles and larger NbC particles were found by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The fraction and quantity of high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) after 36 cycles were the highest among the three numbers of thermal cycles. The peak hardness also occurred after 36 cycles and was attributed to the finest grains, high fraction of HAGBs, and the largest local microstrain. The microtwins and the reverted γ were formed by the thermal cycling process. The estimated fraction value of reverted γ was very low, below 0.1, with a calculated precipitation rate about 12.6 s−1 at t0.5.

Tribological and electrochemical performances of HVOF sprayed NbC-NiCr coatings

A wide range of mechanical parts are protected against wear and corrosion by thermally sprayed WC- or Cr3C2-based hardmetals. However, little is known about the potential of other hardmetal coating formulations. Since promising results were obtained with bulk NbC-based hardmetal cutting tools, in this work we investigated NbC-based coatings, which have not been reported yet in the literature. NbC particles were homogeneously dispersed with volume fractions of 25 % and 40 % in a Ni-20wt.%Cr matrix by mechanical alloying, and the resulting powders were sprayed onto stainless steel substrates by the High-Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) process.Irrespective of the process parameters, the coatings exhibit low porosity (<1 vol%) and hardness values of about 900 HV0.3 (NbC-25NiCr) and 1000 HV0.3 (NbC-40NiCr). The composition with higher amount of NbC phase is less hard because its greater brittleness results in cracking during indentation.The sliding wear resistance of the NbC-based coatings, tested by ball-on-disc tribometry from room temperature up to 600 °C, is generally intermediate between that of WC-CoCr and Cr3C2-NiCr references, and it is usually comparable to that of TiC-NiCr, another type of alternative hardmetal coating, tested in our previous work. Though the NbC-NiCr coatings exhibited limited three-body abrasion resistance due to the occurrence of some brittle fracture together with ductile grooving, they offer a particularly interesting performance at 400 °C, with lower wear rates than Cr3C2-NiCr and TiC-NiCr.Additionally, the NbC-NiCr coatings tested in this work, especially the one with 40 vol% matrix phase, exhibit excellent corrosion resistance. Corrosion current densities (~0.1 μA/cm2) and passive current densities (<1 μA/cm2), both obtained by electrochemical polarization tests, were lower than the corresponding values found for all reference coatings (WC-CoCr, Cr3C2-NiCr and TiC-NiCr),Thus, the NbC-NiCr coatings are promising for applications where a good balance between corrosion resistance and wear resistance over a range of temperatures is required.

Effect of mechanical milling on powder characteristics of Fe-based metal matrix composites reinforced with WC–Co and NbC particles

Effect of mechanical milling on powder characteristics of Fe-based metal matrix composites reinforced with WC–Co and NbC particles

Refinement effect of NbC particle additions on the microstructure of high-speed steel rolls

High-speed steel (HSS) rolls modified by different additions of NbC were prepared. The microstructure of as-cast and heat-treated NbC-modified HSS rolls were observed by means of optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy spectroscopy (EDS), combining with the result of dissolution behavior of NbC particles and interface energy of NbC/γ-Fe calculated by dissolution kinetic and first-principle, the effect of addition of NbC on microstructure of HSS rolls were discussed. Results show that NbC particles do not dissolve in melt under experimental conditions, and the NbC particles even coarsen due to the absorption of alloying elements during the subsequent cooling process. The NbC particles can act as the heterogeneous nucleuses of pre-eutectic austenite to refine the as-cast microstructure of HSS rolls. However, the added amount of NbC particles influence the distribution of NbC. With the increase of the amount of NbC particles, the distribution of NbC particles changes from austenite inter-dendrite region to dendrite. The NbC particles distributed in austenite inter-dendrite region can restrain the movement of solid-liquid interface, and refine the as-cast microstructure. The distribution of NbC within the austenite dendrites enhances the potential of NbC as a non-homogeneous phase nucleus, thereby further refining the microstructure.

Revealing the precipitation kinetics and strengthening mechanisms of a 450 MPa grade Nb-bearing HSLA steel

This study investigates the precipitation kinetics and strengthening mechanisms of a 450 MPa grade Nb-bearing high strength low alloyed steel. The results reveal that Nb(C, N) and NbC particles with a mean size of 8.2 nm, are distributed in grain interior and grain boundaries (GBs). There are two predominant precipitation morphologies in the grain interior, namely disc-like and spherical shapes. The former precipitated in ferrite and the latter precipitated in high-temperature austenite, relying on the Baker-Nutting and Cube-Cube orientation relationships (ORs), respectively. The particle ratio of disc-like NbC precipitates varied from 1.75 to 2.36, which was consistent with the theoretical particle ratio of about 2.43. Besides, NbC or Nb(C, N) particles with a nearly disc-like morphology were found along GBs, also exhibiting the Baker-Nutting OR with ferrite. Thermodynamic calculations indicated that 39 ppm nitrogen increased the precipitation temperature by about 44 °C. Moreover, under heavy hot-rolling reduction, a significant fraction of Nb(C, N) and NbC precipitated in austenite. Precipitation kinetics analysis reveals that both the resultant heightened deformation stored energy (DSE) and trace nitrogen effectively accelerated the nucleation and growth transformation. The high DSE facilitated the strain induced precipitation in austenite, which presented a linear precipitation distribution. With the increased DSE, both the precipitation-temperature-time curve and nucleation rate time curve shifted towards higher temperature and shorter time. Eventually, NbC and Nb(C, N) particles induced strengthening contribution was estimated to be approximately 84 MPa. The main strengthening contributions in the material include grain boundary and solution strengthening.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Dual Scaled NbC/Ti2AlC Reinforced Titanium–Aluminum Composite

A TiAl composite containing hybrid particles and whisker reinforcements is fabricated by vacuum melting. The results of this study show that the comprehensive mechanical properties and refining effect of the material are best when the content of reinforcement is 1 wt.%, and then the mechanical properties begin to deteriorate as the content increases further. Finely dispersed NbC particles and uniformly dispersed Ti2AlC whiskers are the ideal second phases. The synergistic strengthening effect of NbC particles and in situ Ti2AlC whiskers are key to the improvement of mechanical properties. Compared with the TiAlNb matrix, the fracture stress/strain of the composite at 1073 K is improved from 612 MPa/19.4% to 836 MPa/26.6%; the fracture toughness at room temperature is improved from 18.8 MPa/m2 to 27.4 MPa/m2.

Process window for electron beam melting of Ti–42Nb wt.%

Pre-alloyed β-phase Ti˗42Nb alloy was successfully produced for the first time by E-PBF. The study focuses on the determination of the processing parameter window by varying the beam current, beam speed, layer thickness, and line offset to achieve the defect-free manufacturing of new material with desired properties. Overall, 49 regimes were investigated. The Ti˗42Nb powder were characterized using the DSC/TG, XRD, and SEM/EDX analyses to evaluate its suitability for E-PBF manufacturing. The alloys with the best-built quality fall into the narrow zone between the line energies of 0.30 and 0.34 J/mm. The predicted optimal process parameters were I = 4 mA, v = 700–800 mm/s, h = 100 μm, U = 60 kV, and t = 100 μm. Detailed microstructural characterization was carried out to gain insights into the fundamental mechanisms that govern the behavior of the studied alloys. TEM identified the α'' martensitic phase nucleation occurred preferentially at the β grain boundaries. Un-melted ellipsoidal NbC (∼10 μm) particles were detected with no preferential segregation sites. EBSD revealed coarse microstructures and <001> fiber texture, as well as epitaxial grain growth of columnar grains of about 300 μm. The optimal regime demonstrated a texture composed of a high amount of low aspect ratio grains (50%), which yielded a microindentation hardness of 3.0 GPa and a low elastic modulus of 68 GPa. Hence, these results provide opportunities to design novel alloys to be of interest for biomedical applications. Moreover, this study extends the scope of AM by establishing the process parameter window that yields a material with favorable mechanical properties.