Selective laser melting (SLM) is one of the most widely used additive manufacturing technologies. Fabricating nickel-based superalloys with SLM has garnered significant interest from the industry and the research community alike due to the excellent high temperature properties and thermal stability exhibited by the alloys. Haynes-282 alloy, a γ′-phase strengthened Ni-based superalloy, has shown good high temperature mechanical properties comparable to alloys like R-41, Waspaloy, and 263 alloy but with better fabricability. A study and comparison of the effect of different heat-treatment routes on microstructure and mechanical property evolution of Haynes-282 fabricated with SLM is lacking in the literature. Hence, in this manuscript, a thorough investigation of microstructure and mechanical properties after a three-step heat treatment and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) has been conducted. In-situ heat-treatment experiments were conducted in a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to study γ′ precipitate evolution. γ′ precipitation was found to start at 950 °C during in-situ heat-treatment. Insights from the in-situ heat-treatment were used to decide the aging heat-treatment for the alloy. The three-step heat-treatment was found to increase yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS). HIP process enabled γ′ precipitation and recrystallization of grains of the as-printed samples in one single step.
Microstructural design of Ni-base alloys for high-temperature applications: impact of heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties after selective laser melting
