Influence of increasing chromium content on additively manufactured tool steels: Microstructural and mechanical evolution before and after heat treatment
The demand for high performance materials and tailored alloys is increasing within the additive manufacturing (AM) community. Therefore, this study investigates and explores the influence of increasing Cr content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of martensitic tool steels suitable for...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Materials Research and Technology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785424029727 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832595328123011072 |
|---|---|
| author | Nicole Ofner Sabine Carmen Bodner Peter Kunnas Atacan Asci Kevin Kutleša Andreas Stark Philipp Höbenreich Christin Aumayr Liang Wu Christoph Turk Jozef Keckes Michael Meindlhumer |
| author_facet | Nicole Ofner Sabine Carmen Bodner Peter Kunnas Atacan Asci Kevin Kutleša Andreas Stark Philipp Höbenreich Christin Aumayr Liang Wu Christoph Turk Jozef Keckes Michael Meindlhumer |
| author_sort | Nicole Ofner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The demand for high performance materials and tailored alloys is increasing within the additive manufacturing (AM) community. Therefore, this study investigates and explores the influence of increasing Cr content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of martensitic tool steels suitable for AM processing. The analysis covers both the as-built (AB) and heat-treated (HT) conditions, where the latter includes austenitization, quenching and multiple tempering steps. Thus, three Cr-alloyed tool steels, named Alloy A (20 wt% Cr), Alloy B (22 wt% Cr), and Alloy C (24 wt% Cr), were analyzed in the AB and HT conditions. Comprehensive microstructural characterization techniques, including optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy unveiled a clear correlation between the Cr content and the resulting microstructural features and phase occurrences. An in situ synchrotron experiment identified the body-centered cubic-Fe phase in the alloys exclusively as δ-ferrite. Increasing the Cr content resulted in a higher amount of δ-ferrite in both the AB and HT conditions, which consequently reduced the amount of martensite after heat treatment. Mechanical properties, evaluated through Vickers hardness and tensile testing, revealed a decrease in hardness and tensile strength accompanied by a change of the deformation behavior from brittle to ductile with increasing Cr content and consequently increased δ-ferrite content. This study thus contributes to a deeper understanding of the effects of increasing Cr content on the microstructural characteristics, phase occurrence and mechanical properties of high Cr-alloyed tool steels produced via additive manufacturing. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-62faa366e7f645d69886a645969e8d04 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2238-7854 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Materials Research and Technology |
| spelling | doaj-art-62faa366e7f645d69886a645969e8d042025-01-19T06:25:42ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542025-01-013427152727Influence of increasing chromium content on additively manufactured tool steels: Microstructural and mechanical evolution before and after heat treatmentNicole Ofner0Sabine Carmen Bodner1Peter Kunnas2Atacan Asci3Kevin Kutleša4Andreas Stark5Philipp Höbenreich6Christin Aumayr7Liang Wu8Christoph Turk9Jozef Keckes10Michael Meindlhumer11Montanuniversität Leoben, Department Material Science, Leoben, Austria; Corresponding author.Montanuniversität Leoben, Department Material Science, Leoben, AustriaMontanuniversität Leoben, Department Material Science, Leoben, AustriaMontanuniversität Leoben, Department Material Science, Leoben, AustriaMontanuniversität Leoben, Department Material Science, Leoben, AustriaHelmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Institute of Materials Physics, Geesthacht, GermanyÖsterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Leoben, AustriaVoestalpine BÖHLER Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG, Kapfenberg, AustriaVoestalpine Additive Manufacturing Center GmbH, Düsseldorf, GermanyVoestalpine BÖHLER Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG, Kapfenberg, AustriaMontanuniversität Leoben, Department Material Science, Leoben, AustriaMontanuniversität Leoben, Department Material Science, Leoben, Austria; CD Laboratory for Knowledge-based Design of Advanced Steels, Department of Materials Science, Leoben, AustriaThe demand for high performance materials and tailored alloys is increasing within the additive manufacturing (AM) community. Therefore, this study investigates and explores the influence of increasing Cr content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of martensitic tool steels suitable for AM processing. The analysis covers both the as-built (AB) and heat-treated (HT) conditions, where the latter includes austenitization, quenching and multiple tempering steps. Thus, three Cr-alloyed tool steels, named Alloy A (20 wt% Cr), Alloy B (22 wt% Cr), and Alloy C (24 wt% Cr), were analyzed in the AB and HT conditions. Comprehensive microstructural characterization techniques, including optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy unveiled a clear correlation between the Cr content and the resulting microstructural features and phase occurrences. An in situ synchrotron experiment identified the body-centered cubic-Fe phase in the alloys exclusively as δ-ferrite. Increasing the Cr content resulted in a higher amount of δ-ferrite in both the AB and HT conditions, which consequently reduced the amount of martensite after heat treatment. Mechanical properties, evaluated through Vickers hardness and tensile testing, revealed a decrease in hardness and tensile strength accompanied by a change of the deformation behavior from brittle to ductile with increasing Cr content and consequently increased δ-ferrite content. This study thus contributes to a deeper understanding of the effects of increasing Cr content on the microstructural characteristics, phase occurrence and mechanical properties of high Cr-alloyed tool steels produced via additive manufacturing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785424029727Additive manufacturingTool steelsChromium contentδ-ferriteMicrostructurePhase occurrence |
| spellingShingle | Nicole Ofner Sabine Carmen Bodner Peter Kunnas Atacan Asci Kevin Kutleša Andreas Stark Philipp Höbenreich Christin Aumayr Liang Wu Christoph Turk Jozef Keckes Michael Meindlhumer Influence of increasing chromium content on additively manufactured tool steels: Microstructural and mechanical evolution before and after heat treatment Journal of Materials Research and Technology Additive manufacturing Tool steels Chromium content δ-ferrite Microstructure Phase occurrence |
| title | Influence of increasing chromium content on additively manufactured tool steels: Microstructural and mechanical evolution before and after heat treatment |
| title_full | Influence of increasing chromium content on additively manufactured tool steels: Microstructural and mechanical evolution before and after heat treatment |
| title_fullStr | Influence of increasing chromium content on additively manufactured tool steels: Microstructural and mechanical evolution before and after heat treatment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of increasing chromium content on additively manufactured tool steels: Microstructural and mechanical evolution before and after heat treatment |
| title_short | Influence of increasing chromium content on additively manufactured tool steels: Microstructural and mechanical evolution before and after heat treatment |
| title_sort | influence of increasing chromium content on additively manufactured tool steels microstructural and mechanical evolution before and after heat treatment |
| topic | Additive manufacturing Tool steels Chromium content δ-ferrite Microstructure Phase occurrence |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785424029727 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nicoleofner influenceofincreasingchromiumcontentonadditivelymanufacturedtoolsteelsmicrostructuralandmechanicalevolutionbeforeandafterheattreatment AT sabinecarmenbodner influenceofincreasingchromiumcontentonadditivelymanufacturedtoolsteelsmicrostructuralandmechanicalevolutionbeforeandafterheattreatment AT peterkunnas influenceofincreasingchromiumcontentonadditivelymanufacturedtoolsteelsmicrostructuralandmechanicalevolutionbeforeandafterheattreatment AT atacanasci influenceofincreasingchromiumcontentonadditivelymanufacturedtoolsteelsmicrostructuralandmechanicalevolutionbeforeandafterheattreatment AT kevinkutlesa influenceofincreasingchromiumcontentonadditivelymanufacturedtoolsteelsmicrostructuralandmechanicalevolutionbeforeandafterheattreatment AT andreasstark influenceofincreasingchromiumcontentonadditivelymanufacturedtoolsteelsmicrostructuralandmechanicalevolutionbeforeandafterheattreatment AT philipphobenreich influenceofincreasingchromiumcontentonadditivelymanufacturedtoolsteelsmicrostructuralandmechanicalevolutionbeforeandafterheattreatment AT christinaumayr influenceofincreasingchromiumcontentonadditivelymanufacturedtoolsteelsmicrostructuralandmechanicalevolutionbeforeandafterheattreatment AT liangwu influenceofincreasingchromiumcontentonadditivelymanufacturedtoolsteelsmicrostructuralandmechanicalevolutionbeforeandafterheattreatment AT christophturk influenceofincreasingchromiumcontentonadditivelymanufacturedtoolsteelsmicrostructuralandmechanicalevolutionbeforeandafterheattreatment AT jozefkeckes influenceofincreasingchromiumcontentonadditivelymanufacturedtoolsteelsmicrostructuralandmechanicalevolutionbeforeandafterheattreatment AT michaelmeindlhumer influenceofincreasingchromiumcontentonadditivelymanufacturedtoolsteelsmicrostructuralandmechanicalevolutionbeforeandafterheattreatment |