Journal Article

A 3D Printable Alloy Designed for Extreme Environments

Gradl, Paul R., Harder, Bryan J., Kantzos, Christopher A., Heczko, Milan, Gabb, Timothy P., Thompson, Aaron C., Zarkevich, Nikolai A., Mills, Michael J., Smith, Timothy M., Lawson, John W.

2023

Overview

Multiprincipal-element alloys are an enabling class of materials owing to their impressive mechanical and oxidation-resistant properties, especially in extreme environments. Here we develop a new oxide-dispersion-strengthened NiCoCr-based alloy using a model-driven alloy design approach and laser-based additive manufacturing. This oxide-dispersion-strengthened alloy, called GRX-810, uses laser powder bed fusion to disperse nanoscale Y2O3 particles throughout the microstructure without the use of resource-intensive processing steps such as mechanical or in situ alloying. We show the successful incorporation and dispersion of nanoscale oxides throughout the GRX-810 build volume via high-resolution characterization of its microstructure. The mechanical results of GRX-810 show a twofold improvement in strength, over 1,000-fold better creep performance and twofold improvement in oxidation resistance compared with the traditional polycrystalline wrought Ni-based alloys used extensively in additive manufacturing at 1,093 °C. The success of this alloy highlights how model-driven alloy designs can provide superior compositions using far fewer resources compared with the ‘trial-and-error’ methods of the past. These results showcase how future alloy development that leverages dispersion strengthening combined with additive manufacturing processing can accelerate the discovery of revolutionary materials.

• Publisher: Nature Research,Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: 119/118 / 639/301/1023/1026 / 639/301/1034/1035 / 639/301/930/1032 / Additive manufacturing / Alloy development / Alloying elements / Alloys / Chemistry and Materials (General) / Chromium base alloys / Composite Materials / Design / Dispersion / Dispersion hardening alloys / Dispersion strengthening / Ductility / Extreme environments / Grain boundaries / Humanities and Social Sciences / Laser applications / Lasers / Manufacturing / Manufacturing industry / Mechanical properties / Microstructure / multidisciplinary / Nickel base alloys / Oxidation / Oxidation resistance / Powder beds / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Strain hardening / Structural Mechanics / Temperature / Tensile strength / Three dimensional printing / Yield stress / Yttrium oxide