Refractory alloys can be difficult to fabricate by laser-based manufacturing methods due to Hand Painted headstall and breastplate their high melting temperatures, high interstitial solubility, and propensity for low temperature brittleness.Laser-based processes, such as welding and additive manufacturing (AM), yield similar populations of defects, including microsegregation and solidification and solid-state cracking.Given the extreme challenges and cost associated with the production of refractory powders, this research aimed to develop a rapid screening methodology that combines predictive defect formation metrics with single track melting experiments.
A flexible single laser track melting platform was designed to perform screening experiments on conventional and multi-principal element refractory alloys across a wide range of laser Collections energy inputs.The platform was employed to investigate laser melting on solid substrates, or on a substrate with a single layer of powder feedstock, and is demonstrated with the highly fabricable Nb-base alloy C103.Preliminary investigations are performed on refractory multi-principal element alloys in the Hf-Mo-Nb-Ta-Ti family, and significant differences in cracking resistance and solidification morphology are observed.
Implications for future alloy design and processing strategies for defect-resistant refractory alloys for AM are discussed.