Materials characterization of new commercial Fe-based alloys specifically designed for additive manufacturing

拟议的项目涉及两种新型商业合金的材料特性：i) Corrax不锈钢和ii) M789钢。这些合金是专门设计用于激光粉末床熔合（LPBF）工艺的，它结合了马氏体时效钢的可印刷性和不锈钢的众所周知的耐腐蚀性。奥钢联增材制造有限公司目前正在探索这些材料在模具和压铸行业的潜在应用。为了确定可能受益于这些合金的工业部件，必须确定热处理后这些材料的显微组织行为和机械性能。

The proposed project deals with materials characterization of two new commercial alloys: i) Corrax stainless steel and ii) M789 steel. These alloys are specifically designed to be employed in the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process, which combines the printability of maraging steel and the well-known corrosion resistance of stainless steel. Voestalpine Additive Manufacturing Ltd is currently exploring potential applications of these materials in tooling and die cast industries. To determine the industrial parts that may benefit from these alloys, the microstructural behavior and mechanical properties of these materials after heat treatment must be determined. A combination of thermodynamic simulation and experimental work is proposed to identify these alloys' optimum post-processing heat treatment. Phase 1 involves a simulation of phase fractions at various temperatures and cooling rates using thermodynamic software. This activity will be followed by the heat treatment experiments, consisting of solutionizing and aging heat treatment, coupled with phase analysis using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) techniques in Phase 2. The idea is to maximize strength while avoiding the formation of retained austenite that can be detrimental to die life. Once the optimum post-processing technique has been determined, in Phase 3, mechanical tests such as tensile, fatigue, and impact will be carried out to determine suitable applications. This work's output will assist the research and development activities of vAMC in alloy development for the Canadian tooling and die casting industries' continuous sustainability.