Development of Post Additive Manufacturing Treatments to Enhance Mechanical Properties of IN 718 Superalloy

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Additive manufacturing (AM), commonly known as 3D printing, is revolutionizing the manufacturing process in many industries, due to its capability to produce innovative parts that are stronger and lighter. AM has become popular for producing parts from plastics but will have a much greater commercial impact when it can be used to produce advanced materials for innovative applications, including in the aerospace industry. AM can currently be used to produce metallic components with complicated geometries that are almost impractical to produce by other manufacturing processes. However, while a product can be produced with desired geometry and dimensions, meeting the rigorous performance requirements of the aerospace industry remains a considerable challenge. Nickel-based superalloys processed by AM for aeroengine applications are prone to having lower mechanical strength due to internal defects, such as porosity, cracks, and formation of deleterious microconstituent. Precision ADM is a Canadian company that helps their customer companies to take advantage of advanced digital manufacturing technologies, including AM. The aim of the proposed research is to use innovative AM thermo-mechanical treatments to effectively eliminate pores, cracks, residual stresses, deleterious microconstituent, and improve mechanical properties of the most widely used aerospace superalloy, IN 718. Artificial neural network (ANN) modeling will be used to optimize the AM parameters and a systematic study will be performed to use imposed pressure at elevated temperatures to eliminate defects, remove deleterious microconstituent, and enhance the formation of essential strengthening phases in the alloy. This will enable the development of an effective procedure that eradicates major problems that degrade mechanical properties and enable Precision ADM to provide specialized products with reliable properties to its customers. Developing AM capabilities in Canada will lead to major economic growth in the aerospace industry and aid Canada's competitiveness in advanced manufacturing technology.