TY - CONF A1 - Abel, Andreas T1 - Microstructural evolution of Fe-26Al-4Mo-0.5Ti-1B with varying wall thicknesses N2 - With an increasing demand in more efficient fuel consumption to reduce CO2 emissions, weight reductions in high-temperature materials at affordable costs gain increasing attention. One potential candidate is the intermetallic material class of iron aluminides, combining the advantages in mass savings, high temperature performance and recyclability of resources. The alloy Fe-26Al-4Mo-0.5Ti-1B was selected to study the microstructural features evolving from two casting processes, five wall thicknesses and three final conditions. Conclusions are drawn upon the correlations of processing variables, grain sizes and hardness. T2 - DGM Fachausschuss "Intermetallische Phasen" CY - Online meeting DA - 09.02.2021 KW - Intermetallics KW - Iron aluminides KW - Fe-Al alloys KW - Wall thickness KW - Microstructure PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-52288 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Suarez Ocano, Patricia T1 - Exploring the impact of heat treatment on room and high temperature strength of 316L stainless steel fabricated by PBF-LB N2 - Laser Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB/M) enables the fabrication of 316L stainless steel components with superior strength and intricate geometries. The alloy PBF-LB/M/316L features a fully austenitic microstructure with hierarchical characteristics— such as fine dislocation structures, segregated elements, low-angle grain boundaries, and nano-dispersed silicates—that enhance strength and ductility. Additionally, it includes metallurgical defects and residual stresses. Apart from process control, heat treatments (HTs) are used to tailor the microstructure for specific loading conditions. This study investigate the effects of post-processing HTs on the hierarchical microstructure and tensile properties of PBF-LB/M/316L at room and high temperature. The heat treatments, ranging from 400 °C to 900 °C for 1 to 4 hours, focus on sub-recrystallization temperatures to preserve the microstructural hierarchy. The HTs applied had minimal impact on the grain shape, size, or texture of PBF-LB/M/316L. However, significant modifications occurred in the solidification cellular substructure after HTs at 800 °C and 900 °C, when compared to a heat-treated condition at 450 °C. HTs at 800 °C notably decreased dislocation density and enlarged cellular structures, though they remained partially intact. After 1 hour at 900 °C, the cellular substructure dissipated, correlating with a further reduction in dislocation density. These microstructural changes resulted in a decreased yield strength and increased work hardening capacity at both room and high temperature, highlighting the critical link between HT parameters, microstructural evolution, and mechanical performance. T2 - The 20th International Conference on Strength of Materials (ICSMA 20) CY - Kyoto, Japan DA - 02.06.2025 KW - Additive manufacturing KW - 316L stainless steel KW - Heat treatments KW - Tensile properties KW - Microstructure PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63914 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Suárez Ocano, Patricia T1 - Effect of heat treatment on the hierarchical microstructure and properties of 316L stainless steel produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB/M). N2 - Laser Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB/M) of AISI 316L stainless steel has gained popularity due to its exceptional capacity to produce complex geometries and hierarchical microstructures, which can increase the yield strength while maintaining good ductility. Nevertheless, owing to high thermal gradients encountered during the process, the as printed 316L stainless steel often exhibit microstructural heterogeneities and residual stresses, which can limit its performance in demanding environments. Hence, employing heat treatments which balance the reduction of residual stresses while retaining improved static strength may be beneficial in various scenarios and applications. This study investigates the impact of post-processing heat treatments on the microstructure of 316L stainless steel manufactured via PBF-LB/M, along with its correlation with micro-hardness properties. To this end, 6 different heat treatments, i.e., 450 °C for 4h, 700 °C for 1h, 700 °C for 3h, 800 °C for 1h, 800 °C for 3h, and 900 °C for 1h, were applied to different specimens and Vickers hardness measurements (HV1) were performed in all states. At 800 °C, although the cellular structure appears to be retained, there is an observable increase in cellular size. However, while treatments exceeding 900 °C indicate no significant grain growth compared to other conditions, the cellular structure is entirely dissolved, which leads to a reduced Vickers hardness. The effect of the heat treatments on other microstructural features such as grain size and morphology, melt pool boundaries (MPB), crystallographic texture, chemical segregation, dispersoids and phase stability are also discussed in the present work T2 - 4th Symposium on Materials and Additive Manufacturing CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 12.06.2024 KW - Additive manufacturing KW - Heat treatment KW - Microstructure PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60304 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Abel, Andreas T1 - Microstructure-Property-Correlation of a Mo-Ti-B alloyed iron aluminide N2 - Iron aluminides depict a sustainable and light-weight material class which could be employed in many applications requiring high strength at intermediate to high temperatures. According to first results, the alloy Fe-26Al-4Mo-0.5Ti-1B surpasses conventional materials in wet corrosion resistance and creep resistance up to 650 °C. For these reasons, the AiF research project “WAFEAL – Materials applications for iron aluminides” was initiated to transfer these findings into a standardised materials dataset and to derive best practices for processing. In the first place, a set of different microstructures adjusted by varying casting methods, wall thicknesses and heat treatments was investigated and correlated with hardness on macro and micro scale. Correlations were drawn between solidification rates and resulting grain sizes and hardness. The effect of vacancy hardening was only verified for wall thickness as low as 2.5 mm. Moreover, a common decrease of macrohardness after a heat treatment at 1000 °C for 100 h was observed irrespective of casting process or wall thickness. This effect was linked with an unexpected decrease of the complex boride phase fraction which acts as a hardening phase. T2 - Intermetallics 2021 CY - Bad Staffelstein, Germany DA - 04.10.2021 KW - Fe-Al alloys KW - Intermetallics KW - Iron aluminides KW - Heat treatment KW - Wall thickness KW - Centrifugal casting KW - Die casting KW - Investment casting KW - Microstructure KW - Hardness KW - Complex borides PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-53617 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Suárez Ocano, Patricia A1 - Fries, S. G. A1 - Lopez-Galilea, I. A1 - Darvishi Kamachali, Reza A1 - Roik, J. A1 - Agudo Jácome, Leonardo T1 - The AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr refractory high entropy superalloy: Experimental findings and comparison with calculations using the CALPHAD method N2 - Detailed microstructural characterization of the AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr refractory high entropy superalloy in the as-cast state is reported for first time and compared with the state annealed at 1400 oC for 24 h. The former shows a dendritic structure, with a mixture of A2/B2 phases < 20 nm in both the dendritic and interdendritic regions. A mostly amorphous phase, rich in Al and Zr, is found within the interdendritic region. The annealed state reproduced the combination of A2/B2/Al-Zr-rich phases reported previously. Calculations from two relevant ThermoCalc databases were compared with the experimental results. Equilibrium calculations were compared with results for the annealed alloy, whereas solidification paths calculated using Scheil-Gulliver model were used for comparison with the as-cast alloy. A previously hypothesized spinodal decomposition during cooling as the mechanism responsible for the patterned A2/B2 microstructure is confirmed via the CALPHAD calculations, pointing to its use as an efficient design tool for such alloys. Finally, the comparison between the experimental and computational findings allowed better understanding the solidification path and equilibrium stability of this alloy, giving a base to make better decisions on the field of new refractory superalloy design. KW - CALPHAD database analysis KW - Refractory superalloys KW - Chemically complex alloy KW - Characterization KW - Microstructure PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-545906 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2022.110593 SN - 1873-4197 VL - 217 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-54590 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ferrari, Bruno T1 - Microstructural evolution of PBF-LB/M Inconel 718 during solution-aging heat treatments - an in-situ x-ray diffraction study N2 - Inconel 718 (IN718) is a traditional age-hardenable nickel-based alloy that has been increasingly processed by additive manufacturing (AM) in recent years. In the as-solidified condition, IN718 exhibits chemical segregation and the undesired Laves phase, requiring a solution annealing (SA) prior to aging. The material produced by AM does not respond to the established thermal routines in the same way as conventionally produced IN718, and there is still no consensus on which routine yields optimal results. This work aims to provide a fundamental understanding of the heat treatment (HT) response by continuously monitoring the microstructural evolution during SA via time-resolved synchrotron x-ray diffraction, complemented by ex-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The samples were produced by laser powder bed fusion to a geometry of 10x20x90 mm³, from which Ø1x5 mm³ cylindric specimens were extracted. Two different scanning strategies – incremental 67° rotations, Rot, and alternating 0°/67° tracks, Alt – were used, leading to two different as-built conditions. 1-hour SAs were carried out in the beamline ID22 of the ESRF at 50 KeV. Two SA temperatures, SA1 = 1020 °C, and SA2 = 1080 °C were tested for each scanning strategy. Data were processed using the software PDIndexer. In the as-built state, all samples showed typical subgrain columnar cell structures with predominant Nb/Mo segregation and Laves phase at the cell walls, as seen by SEM. The Alt scan induced higher intensity on the Laves peaks than the Rot scan, suggesting a greater content of Laves. Chemical homogenization in the SA was largely achieved during the heating ramp (Fig. 1). SA2 eliminated the Laves peaks just before reaching 1080 °C, and mitigated differences between Rot and Alt samples. On the other hand, SA1 induced the precipitation of the generally detrimental δ phase, also observed by SEM. Furthermore, the Rot scan showed higher δ peak intensities than the Alt scan, indicating a higher content of δ in the latter. No signs of recrystallization were observed in any of the investigated SAs. T2 - FEMS EUROMAT 2023 CY - Frankfurt a. M., Germany DA - 03.09.2023 KW - Additive Manufacturing KW - X-Ray Diffraction KW - Inconel 718 KW - Heat Treatments KW - Microstructure PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58392 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Suarez Ocano, Patricia T1 - Influence of heat-treatment-induced microstructural evolution on the Low Cycle Fatigue behavior of 316L stainless steel fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion N2 - Additive manufacturing, particularly the laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) process, has gained significant attention in recent years due to its ability to produce complex geometries with enhanced mechanical properties. Among the various materials used, 316L stainless steel is highly favored for cyclically loaded components due to its exceptional mechanical strength, high-temperature performance, and corrosion resistance, making it widely applicable across various industries. 316L SS fabricated by PBF-LB/M (PBF-LB/M/316L) exhibits a unique hierarchical microstructure, with high density of low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs), nano-dispersed silicates, chemical micro-segregations, and solidification-induced cellular structures. Particularly, the submicron-sized cellular features enriched with chromium (Cr) and molybdenum (Mo), along with high dislocation densities, contribute to a superior strength-ductility balance compared to conventionally manufactured 316L SS. The dispersed silicate particles act also as a strengthening phase, impeding dislocation movement and enhancing plastic deformation resistance. This study explores the effect of heat treatments on the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior of PBF-LB/M/316L at room temperature (RT) and 600 °C. First, three heat treatment conditions were applied to the as-built material: 450 °C for 4 hours (HT450/4), 800 °C for 3 hours (HT800/3), and 900 °C for 1 hour (HT900/1) to investigate their influence on microstructural evolution. Microstructural analysis revealed that the HT450/4 condition preserved the cellular structure with high dislocation density, while the HT800/3 condition showed partial dissolution of cells together with reduction in segregated elements along the cell walls and a reduced dislocation density. The HT900/1 condition resulted in complete segregation and cellular structure dissolution with comparable dislocation density to HT800/3 while maintaining the crystallographic texture and grain morphology. Intermetallic χ phase was mostly observed at the grain boundaries in HT800/3, but not in HT900/1. Fully reversed LCF tests were conducted under strain-controlled conditions with a strain amplitude of 0.8 %. Tests were interrupted at specific intervals to analyze the interaction between hierarchical microstructural features and deformation mechanisms in the three heat-treated conditions. Due to the pronounced dislocation cell structures and elemental segregation, the microstructure of the HT450/4 condition significantly impact deformation and damage mechanisms during cyclic loading, which in turn, differ from the conventional produced counterparts. The results provide insights into the relationship between microstructural features and fatigue performance, highlighting key deformation and failure mechanisms under cyclic loading. T2 - FEMS 2025 EUROMAT 18th European Congress and Exhibition on Advanced Materials and Processes CY - Granada, Spain DA - 14.09.2025 KW - Additive manufacturing KW - 316L stainless steel KW - Heat treatments KW - Low Cycle Fatigue KW - Microstructure PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64238 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -