Effect of powder variability on laser powder bed fusion processing and properties of 316L
Journal article, 2022

To date, the effects of powder properties, both physical and chemical, on the printed properties of as-built components is still a topic that is poorly understood. A contributing factor is the lack of relevant methods for evaluating the rheological properties of powder, or flowability. This study presents a review of different 316 L powder grades that were produced using various atomization techniques. The physical powder properties were evaluated using powder metallurgical techniques, a powder rheometer (FT4) and a rotating drum analyser (RPA). The results indicate that both the FT4 and RPA are suitable for powder characterization. However, the parameter selection for evaluation must be done keeping in mind the application, in this case thin layer powder spreading. It was found that all bulk powder density measurements, basic flow energy and the break energy were able to both differentiate between powder grades and predict how suitable the powder will be for the laser-based powder-bed fusion process. Despite some printability challenges of the water atomized grades at higher layer thicknesses, it was found that both gas atomized grades performed similarly despite minor differences in particle size distribution. Furthermore, powder variability did not show any detrimental effects on the resulting mechanical properties.

Author

Dmitri Riabov

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Materials and manufacture

Laura Cordova Gonzalez

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Materials and manufacture

Eduard Hryha

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Materials and manufacture

Sven Bengtsson

Höganäs

European Journal of Materials

26889277 (eISSN)

Vol. 2 1 202-221

Subject Categories

Ceramics

Materials Chemistry

Other Materials Engineering

Areas of Advance

Materials Science

DOI

10.1080/26889277.2022.2064772

More information

Latest update

2/12/2024