Formation of the structural-phase states of steels printed by wire-feed electron beam additive manufacturing
摘要
The microstructure and mechanical properties of the 13Mn6, SS321, and 56GM steel specimens produced by the wire-feed electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM) are examined. The printing parameters are shown to strongly affect their geometric accuracy. The heat input plays a key role in the formation of structure characteristics. The macrostructure of all steel specimens is characterized by the presence of distinct melt-pool boundaries, inherited during repeated melting of previously deposited layers and thermal cycling. The formation of this macrostructure is attributed to the alloying element segregation under the conditions of non-stationary metallurgy in the course of the electron beam additive process. During the deposition of subsequent layers, the microsegregation expands in the material flow direction, causing the macrostructure to acquire a characteristic layered character. The microstructure of the additively-grown SS321-based specimen is characterized by a dendritic pattern, whereas the 13Mn6 and 56GM-based specimens exhibit a grain structure. The average yield and tensile strengths for the 13Mn6-based specimens are 262 and 431 MPa, for the SS321-based specimens—328 and 696 MPa, and for the 56GM-based specimens—511 and 934 MPa, respectively, which are comparable to those of the steels produced by conventional methods.