Characteristics of a gradient material based on Ni-Cr stainless steel and H20N80 alloy produced by electron-beam 3D-printing

The main problem of additively manufactured chromium-nickel austenitic stainless steels is the formation of a two-phase γ-austenite/δ-ferrite dendritic microstructure, which complicates their use and distinguishes them from cast single-phase analogs. The reasons for the formation of a two-phase structure are nonequilibrium solidification conditions, complex thermal history, and melt depletion by austenite-forming elements (nickel and manganese). Therefore, additional nickel alloying under the additive manufacturing of steels can stabilize the austenitic structure in them. In this work, the authors used electron-beam additive production with simultaneous feeding of two wires from austenitic stainless steel Fe-18.2Cr-9.5Ni-1.1Mn-0.7Ti-0.5Si-0.08C wt.% (SS, Cr18Ni10Ti) and alloy 77.7Ni-19.6Cr-1.8Si-0.5Fe-0.4Zr wt.% (Ni-Cr alloy, Cr20Ni80) to obtain two gradient billets. The authors used two wire-feeding strategies (the first one is four layers of SS/one layer of Cr20Ni80; the second one is one layer of SS/one layer of a mixture 80 % SS + 20 % Cr20Ni80). The study identified that the Ni-Cr alloying in the process of electron-beam additive production of SS billets suppressed δ-ferrite formation and contributes to the stabilization of the austenite phase. The deposition of Ni-Cr alloy next to the four layers of SS leads to inhomogeneity of the structure and chemical composition in the billet, low plasticity, and premature failure of these specimens during tensile tests. The sequential alternation of pure SS layers with those of a mixture of wires (80 % SS + 20 % Cr20Ni80) promotes the uniform mixing of two wires components and the formation of a more homogeneous structure in the gradient billet, which leads to an increase in the ductility of the specimens during mechanical tests.