Microstructural, mechanical and wear behaviour of Inconel-718 produced through laser-powder bed-fused additive manufacturing

The present work deals with the microstructure, nanoindentation and wear behaviour of Inconel-718 (IN-718) specimens fabricated through laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF). To ensure the improvement in L-PBF, the results obtained were compared with the as-cast IN-718 specimen. Though IN-718 specimens exhibited precipitation and solid solution strengthening in both the fabrication techniques, L-PBF specimen has achieved better mechanical properties due to refinement of grains. The wear rate of cast and L-PBF IN-718 specimens were 0.98 and 0.27 mm³ m⁻¹, respectively. Besides, the roughness average was reduced for L-PBF produced worn surface compared to as-cast specimen. In the light of the above observations, L-PBF can be a promising technique to fabricate IN-718 alloys for load carrying and wear applications.