Traditional methods for increasing the energy absorption of a structure involve using a stronger material or increasing the volume of the structure, resulting in a higher cost or additional weight. Additive manufacturing (AM) can be used to maximize the energy absorption of materials with the ability to create complex geometries such as cellular structures. Previous work has shown that the energy absorption of additively manufactured parts can be improved through functionally graded cellular structures; however, this strategy has not been applied to ultra-high strength steel materials. This work characterizes the effect of multiple functional-grading strategies (e.g. uniform, rod-graded, size-graded) on the energy absorption to weight ratio of laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) produced M300 maraging steel lattice structures. Each structure is designed with the same average relative density to analyze the structures on an equal mass basis, to evaluate manufacturability, mechanical response, and compare experimental results with numerical simulation.

Die Implementierung von Laser Powder Bed Fusion bei Aluminiumoxidkeramiken ist aufgrund einer geringen Temperaturwechselbeständigkeit, Bauteilverdichtung, Pulverfließfähigkeit und Lichtabsorption eine große Herausforderung. In dieser Arbeit wurden diese Prob-leme mit unterschiedlichen Ansätzen adressiert. Sprühgetrocknete Aluminiumoxid Granulate wurde zur Verbesserung der Laserabsorption (über 80 % Verbesserung) mit farbigen Nano-Oxidpartikeln dotiert. Es wurden verschiedene Partikelpackungstheorien und Pulverbehand-lungen getestet, um die Pulverbettdichte und damit die Dichte des endgültigen Bauteils (Dichten bis zu 98,6 %) zu erhöhen. Die Pulverqualität wurde durch Schütt und Rütteldichte, Feuchtigkeitsgehalt, Partikelgrößenverteilung, Hausner-Verhältnis, Lawinenwinkel und Oberflächenfraktal charakterisiert. Des Weiteren wurde der Zusatz geeigneter Stoffe zur Verringerung der Rissbildung durch thermische Spannungen getestet. Die In-situ-Bildung von Phasen mit geringer und negativer Wärmeausdehnung reduzierte die Rissbildung in den lasergefertigten Oxidkeramiken stark.:1 Introduction 1 1.1 Motivation 1 1.2 State of the art . 2 1.3 Aim of the project 2 2 Literature review 5 2.1 Additive manufacturing by laser powder bed fusion 5 2.1.1 Classification and process description 5 2.1.2 Advantages against other AM processes 9 2.1.3 Challenges of laser powder bed fusion 12 2.1.4 State of the art of laser powder bed fusion of aluminum oxide based ceramics 13 2.1.4.1 Powder bed preparation and impact on the process 13 2.1.4.2 Critical rating of the powder bed preparation techniques 17 2.1.4.3 Processing methods and properties 19 2.1.4.4 Part properties 26 2.2 Theoretical and experimental considerations for powder bed preparation 35 2.2.1 Spray granulation 35 2.2.2 Particle packing theories 39 2.3 Mechanisms for particle dispersing 41 2.3.1 DLVO-theory 41 2.3.2 Surface charge and electrical double layer 43 2.4 Conceptualization of new ideas for laser powder bed fusion of aluminum oxide 45 2.4.1 Densification, powder flowability and absorption issue 46 2.4.2 Reduction of crack formation 47 3 Doped spray-dried granules to solve densification and absorption issue in laser powder bed fusion of alumina 55 3.1 Dispersing of aluminum oxide, iron oxide and manganese oxide 55 3.1.1 Experimental 55 3.1.2 Particle characterization 57 3.1.3 Saturation amount evaluation of dispersant 59 3.1.4 Particle size distributions after dispersing 62 3.1.4.1 Particle size distributions of alumina powders 62 3.1.4.2 Particle size distribution of dopant 67 3.2 Packing density increase of spray-dried granules 76 3.2.1 Experimental 77 3.2.2 Influence of solid load and particle ratio on granules 83 3.2.3 Influence of dopant shape and multimodal distributions on granules 84 3.2.4 Evolution of pH-value during slurry preparation and slurry stability after mixing of all components 85 3.2.5 Influence of slurry viscosity on yield of granules 88 3.2.6 Addition of coarse alumina to spray-dried granules 89 3.2.7 Application of Andreasen model on mixtures of ceramic particles with spray-dried granules 94 3.2.8 Thermal pre-treatment of granules 98 3.2.9 Influence of surface tension of slurry on granule size and density 110 3.3 Investigation of laser manufactured parts 114 3.3.1 Experimental 115 3.3.2 Influence of different iron oxide dopants and multimodal particle distributions within granules 118 3.3.3 Influence of coarse alumina variation 121 3.3.4 Influence of thermal pre-treatment of powders 127 3.3.5 Grain structure of laser additive manufactured parts 135 3.3.6 Thermal expansion of laser processed parts 137 3.3.7 Influence of thermal pre-treatment and laser processing on manganese amount within granules and laser additive manufactured parts 138 4 Additives to reduce crack formation in selective laser melting and sintering of alumina 143 4.1 Experimental 144 4.2 Additives to reduce thermal stresses 150 4.2.1 Selective laser melting with mullite additives 150 4.2.2 Amorphous alumina formation by rare earth oxide doping 160 4.2.3 Formation of aluminum titanate by use of reduced titanium oxide 169 4.2.3.1 Dispersing of titanium oxide nanoparticles in water 170 4.2.3.2 Thermal treatment of Al2O3/TiO2 granules under argon/hydrogen atmosphere 172 4.2.3.3 Laser manufacturing of parts 178 4.2.4 In-situ formation of negative thermal expansion materials 187 4.2.4.1 Dispersing of zirconia and tungsten oxide nanoparticles 187 4.2.4.2 Influence of spray drying process parameters 191 4.2.4.3 Preparation of final powders for laser powder bed fusion 197 4.2.4.4 Laser manufacturing of layers and parts 200 4.3 Mechanical properties of laser processed parts 205 5 Flowability and inner structure of customized granules 209 5.1 Experimental 209 5.2 Comparison of flowability in terms of Hausner ratio, Avalanche angle and surface fractal measurements 211 5.2.1 Influence of coarse alumina AA18 variation 211 5.2.2 Influence of thermal pre-treatment of powders 213 5.2.3 Influence of dopant content within granules 216 5.2.4 Flowability of zirconia-tungsten oxide granules and alumina granules with mullite or rare earth oxide addition 219 5.2.5 Flowability of titanium oxide doped alumina powders 221 5.3 Cross sections of customized granules to image inner structure 224 6 Summary, conclusions and outlook 233 6.1 Summary and conclusions 233 6.2 Outlook 241 References 245 List of Figures 260 List of Tables 269 / The implementation of laser powder bed fusion of aluminum oxide ceramics is challenging due to a low thermal shock resistance, part densification, powder flowability and light absorptance. In this work, these challenges have been addressed by different approaches. Spray-dried alumina granules were doped with colored oxide nanoparticles to improve the laser absorption (improvement by over 80%). Different particle packing theories and powder treatments were tested to increase the powder bed density and therefore, the final part density (densities up to 98.6%). The powder quality was characterized by apparent and tapped density, moisture content, particle size distribution, Hausner ratio, avalanche angle and sur-face fractal. Furthermore, the addition of suitable was tested to reduce crack formation caused by thermal stresses. The in-situ formation of low and negative thermal expansion phases strongly reduced the crack formation in the laser manufactured oxide ceramic parts.:1 Introduction 1 1.1 Motivation 1 1.2 State of the art . 2 1.3 Aim of the project 2 2 Literature review 5 2.1 Additive manufacturing by laser powder bed fusion 5 2.1.1 Classification and process description 5 2.1.2 Advantages against other AM processes 9 2.1.3 Challenges of laser powder bed fusion 12 2.1.4 State of the art of laser powder bed fusion of aluminum oxide based ceramics 13 2.1.4.1 Powder bed preparation and impact on the process 13 2.1.4.2 Critical rating of the powder bed preparation techniques 17 2.1.4.3 Processing methods and properties 19 2.1.4.4 Part properties 26 2.2 Theoretical and experimental considerations for powder bed preparation 35 2.2.1 Spray granulation 35 2.2.2 Particle packing theories 39 2.3 Mechanisms for particle dispersing 41 2.3.1 DLVO-theory 41 2.3.2 Surface charge and electrical double layer 43 2.4 Conceptualization of new ideas for laser powder bed fusion of aluminum oxide 45 2.4.1 Densification, powder flowability and absorption issue 46 2.4.2 Reduction of crack formation 47 3 Doped spray-dried granules to solve densification and absorption issue in laser powder bed fusion of alumina 55 3.1 Dispersing of aluminum oxide, iron oxide and manganese oxide 55 3.1.1 Experimental 55 3.1.2 Particle characterization 57 3.1.3 Saturation amount evaluation of dispersant 59 3.1.4 Particle size distributions after dispersing 62 3.1.4.1 Particle size distributions of alumina powders 62 3.1.4.2 Particle size distribution of dopant 67 3.2 Packing density increase of spray-dried granules 76 3.2.1 Experimental 77 3.2.2 Influence of solid load and particle ratio on granules 83 3.2.3 Influence of dopant shape and multimodal distributions on granules 84 3.2.4 Evolution of pH-value during slurry preparation and slurry stability after mixing of all components 85 3.2.5 Influence of slurry viscosity on yield of granules 88 3.2.6 Addition of coarse alumina to spray-dried granules 89 3.2.7 Application of Andreasen model on mixtures of ceramic particles with spray-dried granules 94 3.2.8 Thermal pre-treatment of granules 98 3.2.9 Influence of surface tension of slurry on granule size and density 110 3.3 Investigation of laser manufactured parts 114 3.3.1 Experimental 115 3.3.2 Influence of different iron oxide dopants and multimodal particle distributions within granules 118 3.3.3 Influence of coarse alumina variation 121 3.3.4 Influence of thermal pre-treatment of powders 127 3.3.5 Grain structure of laser additive manufactured parts 135 3.3.6 Thermal expansion of laser processed parts 137 3.3.7 Influence of thermal pre-treatment and laser processing on manganese amount within granules and laser additive manufactured parts 138 4 Additives to reduce crack formation in selective laser melting and sintering of alumina 143 4.1 Experimental 144 4.2 Additives to reduce thermal stresses 150 4.2.1 Selective laser melting with mullite additives 150 4.2.2 Amorphous alumina formation by rare earth oxide doping 160 4.2.3 Formation of aluminum titanate by use of reduced titanium oxide 169 4.2.3.1 Dispersing of titanium oxide nanoparticles in water 170 4.2.3.2 Thermal treatment of Al2O3/TiO2 granules under argon/hydrogen atmosphere 172 4.2.3.3 Laser manufacturing of parts 178 4.2.4 In-situ formation of negative thermal expansion materials 187 4.2.4.1 Dispersing of zirconia and tungsten oxide nanoparticles 187 4.2.4.2 Influence of spray drying process parameters 191 4.2.4.3 Preparation of final powders for laser powder bed fusion 197 4.2.4.4 Laser manufacturing of layers and parts 200 4.3 Mechanical properties of laser processed parts 205 5 Flowability and inner structure of customized granules 209 5.1 Experimental 209 5.2 Comparison of flowability in terms of Hausner ratio, Avalanche angle and surface fractal measurements 211 5.2.1 Influence of coarse alumina AA18 variation 211 5.2.2 Influence of thermal pre-treatment of powders 213 5.2.3 Influence of dopant content within granules 216 5.2.4 Flowability of zirconia-tungsten oxide granules and alumina granules with mullite or rare earth oxide addition 219 5.2.5 Flowability of titanium oxide doped alumina powders 221 5.3 Cross sections of customized granules to image inner structure 224 6 Summary, conclusions and outlook 233 6.1 Summary and conclusions 233 6.2 Outlook 241 References 245 List of Figures 260 List of Tables 269

[ES] La fabricación aditiva, de sus siglas en inglés AM (Additive Manufacturing) es un proceso que construye objetos sólidos tridimensionales mediante la superposicióon de materiales basados en un modelo de diseño asistido por ordenador. La AM está llamada a convertirse en la próxima revolución industrial, transformando el panorama del desarrollo y la producción. La AM ofrece numerosas ventajas, como posibilidades de diseño complejas y flexibles, la eliminación de procesos intermedios como el mecanizado, la independencia de los costes de producción del tamaño de los lotes, la reducción de los residuos de material, las estructuras ligeras, las reparaciones personalizadas de las máquinas y la capacidad de desarrollar nuevos materiales, entre otras ventajas. En las tecnologías de fabricación aditiva que emplean un rayo láser como fuente de energía, la materia prima inicial (en forma de polvo o cable) es fundida por la fuente de calor láser de forma controlada, capa a capa, hasta crear un componente con dimensiones finales o casi finales. Estas tecnologías implican someter el material impreso a un proceso térmico único, en el que el material se funde en un área muy específica y luego se enfría rápidamente a velocidades extremadamente altas de hasta 10^6 K/s. Por lo tanto, las microestructuras que surgen de los procesos de fabricación en AM difieren significativamente de las que se consiguen en los procesos tradicionales. Además, los materiales que se emplean principalmente en la AM no se han diseñado explícitamente para estas tecnologías. Las características específicas de los procesos de AM pueden utilizarse para lograr microestructuras y propiedades distintas en aceros que han sido adaptados para aprovechar las rápidas velocidades de enfriamiento y la historia térmica del proceso, entre otros factores. Por el momento, el número de calidades de acero comerciales disponibles en el mercado de la AM es limitado. Diversas industrias demandan nuevos grados de acero con menor densidad para disminuir el peso sin comprometer las propiedades mecánicas. Los aceros con alto contenido en manganeso se consideran materiales muy prometedores para aplicaciones estructurales debido a su excepcional combinación de resistencia y ductilidad, con una baja densidad. Sin embargo, a pesar de sus excepcionales propiedades, los aceros con alto contenido en manganeso se enfrentan a diversas limitaciones o retos durante las técnicas de procesado convencionales. Afortunadamente, la solidificación rápida puede resolver estos problemas. En este sentido, las tecnologías de AM basadas en láser proporcionan velocidades de enfriamiento rápidas, así como flexibilidad en términos de diseño geométrico. Los nuevos retos de estas tecnologías implicarán la microsegregación y el agrietamiento en caliente o hot cracking en inglés, que se producen durante la solidificación. Esta tesis está dedicada a explotar el método CALPHAD para realizar cálculos termodinámicos con el fin de diseñar varios aceros con alto contenido en manganeso que puedan prevenir eficazmente los problemas de solidificación rápida en AM. Las composiciones de acero diseñadas se produjeron en forma de polvo para AM mediante atomización con gas. Se analizaron los polvos para determinar su microestructura en relación con la química y la velocidad de enfriamiento. Ajustando adecuadamente los parámetros de impresión, estos polvos de acero con alto contenido en manganeso se imprimieron con éxito en AM, dando lugar a densidades relativas superiores al 99.9%. Se analizó la microestructura de estas muestras totalmente densas y se comparó con sus respectivos polvos, con el fin de identificar cualquier diferencia resultante de las variaciones en la velocidad de enfriamiento y los ciclos térmicos. Por último, tras definir el mejor conjunto de condiciones de impresión para cada composición de polvo, se produjeron varias muestras para evaluar las propiedades mecánicas. / [CA] La fabricació additiva, de les seues sigles en anglés AM (Additive Manufacturing) és un procés que construïx objectes sòlids tridimensionals mitjançant la superposició de materials basats en un model de disseny assistit per ordinador. L'AM està cridada a convertir-se en la pròxima revolució industrial, transformant el panorama del desenvolupament i la producció. L'AM oferix nombrosos avantatges, com a possibilitats de disseny complexes i flexibles, l'eliminació de processos intermedis com el mecanitzat, la independència dels costos de producció de la grandària dels lots, la reducció dels residus de material, les estructures lleugeres, les reparacions personalitzades de les màquines i la capacitat de desenvolupar nous materials, entre altres avantatges. En les tecnologies de fabricació additiva que empren un raig làser com a font d'energia, la matèria primera inicial (en forma de pols o filferro) és fosa per la font de calor làser de manera controlada, capa a capa, fins a crear un component amb dimensions finals o quasi finals. Estes tecnologies impliquen sotmetre el material imprés a un procés tèrmic únic, en el qual el material es funde en una àrea molt específica i després es refreda ràpidament a velocitats extremadament altes de fins a 10^6 K/s. Per tant, les microestructures que sorgixen dels processos de fabricació en AM diferixen significativament de les que s'aconseguixen en els processos tradicionals. A més, els materials que s'empren principalment en l'AM no s'han dissenyat explícitament per a estes tecnologies. Les característiques específiques dels processos d'AM poden utilitzar-se per a aconseguir microestructures i propietats diferents en acers que han sigut adaptats per a aprofitar les ràpides velocitats de refredament i la història tèrmica del procés, entre altres factors. De moment, el nombre de qualitats d'acer comercials disponibles en el mercat de l'AM és limitat. Diverses indústries demanden nous graus d'acer amb menor densitat per a disminuir el pes sense comprometre les propietats mecàniques. Els acers amb alt contingut en manganés es consideren materials molt prometedors per a aplicacions estructurals a causa de la seua excepcional combinació de resistència i ductilitat, amb una baixa densitat. No obstant això, malgrat les seues excepcionals propietats, els acers amb alt contingut en manganés s'enfronten a diverses limitacions o reptes durant les tècniques de processament convencionals. Afortunadament, la solidificació ràpida pot resoldre estos problemes. En este sentit, les tecnologies d'AM basades en làser proporcionen velocitats de refredament ràpides, així com flexibilitat en termes de disseny geomètric. Els nous reptes d'estes tecnologies implicaran la microsegregació i l'esquerdament en calent, o hot cracking en anglés, que es produïxen durant la solidificació. Esta tesi està dedicada a explotar el mètode CALPHAD per a realitzar càlculs termodinàmics amb la finalitat de dissenyar diversos acers amb alt contingut en manganés que puguen previndre eficaçment els problemes de solidificació ràpida en AM. Les composicions d'acer dissenyades es van produir en forma de pols per a AM mitjançant atomització amb gas. Es van analitzar les pólvores per a determinar la seua microestructura en relació amb la química i la velocitat de refredament. Ajustant adequadament els paràmetres d'impressió, estes pólvores d'acer amb alt contingut en manganés es van imprimir amb èxit en AM, donant lloc a densitats relatives superiors al 99.9%. Es va analitzar la microestructura d'estes mostres totalment denses i es va comparar amb les seues respectives pólvores, amb la finalitat d'identificar qualsevol diferència resultant de les variacions en la velocitat de refredament i els cicles tèrmics. Finalment, desprès de definir el millor conjunt de condicions d'impressió per a cada composició de pols, es van produir diverses mostres per a avaluar les propietats mecàniques. / [EN] Additive manufacturing (AM) is a process that builds three-dimensional solid objects by layering materials based on a computer-aided design model. AM is set to become the next industrial revolution, transforming the landscape of development and production. AM provides numerous benefits, including complex and flexible design possibilities, the elimination of intermediate processes like machining, production cost independence from batch size, reduced material waste, lightweight structures, customized machine repairs, and the ability to develop new materials, among other advantages. In additive manufacturing technologies that employ a laser beam as an energy source, the initial raw material (in the form of powder or wire) is melted by the laser heat source in a controlled manner, layer by layer, until a component with final or nearly final dimensions is created. These technologies involve subjecting the printed material to a unique thermal process, where the material is melted in a very specific area and then rapidly cooled at extremely high rates of up to 10^6 K/s. Hence, the microstructures that arise from the manufacturing processes in AM differ significantly from those achieved in traditional processes. Moreover, the materials predominantly employed in AM have not been explicitly designed for these technologies. The specific characteristics of AM processes can be utilized to achieve distinct microstructures and properties in steels that have been tailored to take advantage of the rapid cooling rates and thermal history of the process, among other factors. For the moment, the number of commercial steel grades available in the AM market is limited. Various industries are demanding new steel grades with lower density to decrease weight without compromising mechanical properties. High manganese steels are regarded as highly promising materials for structural applications due to their exceptional combination of strength and ductility, with low density. Nevertheless, despite the exceptional properties of high manganese steels, they encounter various limitations or challenges during conventional processing techniques. Fortunately, rapid solidification may solve these issues. In this sense, laser-based AM technologies provide rapid cooling rates, as well as flexibility in terms of geometric design. The new challenges of these technologies will involve micro-segregation and hot cracking occurring during solidification. This thesis is dedicated to exploiting the CALPHAD method to perform thermodynamic calculations in order to design various high manganese steels that can effectively prevent fast solidification issues in AM. The steel compositions designed were produced in the form of powder for AM using gas atomization. Powders were analyzed to determine their microstructure in relation to the chemistry and cooling rate. By adjusting properly, the printing parameters, these high manganese steel powders were successfully printed in AM, resulting in relative densities exceeding 99.9%. The microstructure of these fully dense samples was analyzed and compared to their respective powders, in order to identify any difference resulting from variations in cooling rate and thermal cycling. Lastly, after defining the best set of printing conditions for each powder composition, various samples were produced to evaluate the mechanical properties, to determine the correlation between the composition, microstructure and properties of these steels. In addition, lattice structures that are close to final part geometries were constructed to quantify the energy absorbed during compression by one of these high manganese steels. The results were then compared to those of 316L, revealing that the high manganese steel absorbs roughly twice as much the specific energy in compression. This finding demonstrates the potential of these novel AM steels for use in industrial applications. / Sánchez Poncela, M. (2024). Design of High Mn Fe-Mn-Al-C Low Density Steels for Additive Manufacturing [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/205174

This project was conducted as a case study at Öhlins Racing AB, a manufacturer of suspension systems for automotive applications. Öhlins usually manufacture their components by traditional methods such as forging, casting, and machining. The project aimed to investigate how applicable Additive Manufacturing (AM) is to manufacture products for suspension systems to add value to suspension system components. For this, a proof of concept was designed and manufactured. The thesis was conducted at Öhlins in Upplands Väsby via the consultant firm Combitech.  A product catalog was searched, screened, and one part was selected. The selected part was used as a benchmark when a new part was designed for AM, using methods including Topology Optimization (TO) and Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM). Product requirements for the chosen part were to reduce weight, add functions, or add value in other ways.  Methods used throughout the project were based on traditional product development and DfAM, and consisted of three steps: Product Screening, Concept Development, and Part Design. The re-designed part is ready to be manufactured in titanium by L-PBF at Amexci in Karlskoga.  The thesis result shows that at least one of Öhlin's components in their product portfolio is suitable to be chosen, re-designed, and manufactured by AM. It is also shown that value can be added to the product by increased performance, in this case mainly by weight reduction. The finished product is a fork bottom, designed with hollow structures, and is ready to print by L-PBF in a titanium alloy.

The rise of additive manufacturing has enabled new degrees of freedom in terms of design and functionality. In this context, this contribution addresses the design and characterization of structural unit cells that are intended as building blocks of highly porous lattice structures with tailored properties. While typical lattice structures are often composed of gyroid or diamond lattices, this study presents stackable unit cells of different sizes created by a generative design approach tomeet boundary conditions such as printability and homogeneous stress distributions under a given mechanical load. Suitable laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) parameterswere determined forAlSi10Mg to ensure high resolution and process reproducibility for all considered unit cells. Stacks of unit cells were integrated into tensile and pressure test specimens for which the mechanical performance of the cells was evaluated. Experimentally measured material properties, applied process parameters, and mechanical test results were employed for calibration and validation of finite element (FE) simulations of both the LPBF process as well as the subsequent mechanical characterization. The obtained data therefore provides the basis to combine the different unit cells into tailored lattice structures and to numerically investigate the local variation of properties in the resulting structures. / Durch die Einführung der Additiven Fertigung können neue Freiheitsgrade in Bezug auf Gestaltungsfreiheit und Funktionalität erreicht werden. In diesem Zusammenhang adressiert dieser Beitrag das Design und die Charakterisierung struktureller Einheitszellen als Bausteine für hochgradig poröse Gitterstrukturen mit maßgeschneiderten Eigenschaften. Während typische Gitterstrukturen oft auf Gyroid- oder Diamantstrukturen basieren, präsentiert dieser Beitrag stapelbare Einheitszellen unterschiedlicher Größe, die durch einen generativen Designansatz erstellt wurden. Hierdurch sollen verschiedene Randbedingungen wie eine gute Druckbarkeit und homogene Spannungsverteilung unter gegebenen mechanischen Lasten erreicht werden. Um eine hohe Auflösung und Reproduzierbarkeit der Einheitszellen zu erreichen, wurden für den verwendeten Werkstoff AlSi10Mg geeignete Druckparameter für das Laserstrahlschmelzen (LPBF) ermittelt. Stapel von Einheitszellen wurden in Zug- und Druckproben integriert, anhand derer die mechanische Stabilität der Zellen ermittelt wurde. Experimentell bestimmte Materialeigenschaften, die verwendeten Prozessparameter und die Ergebnisse der mechanischen Untersuchungen wurden anschließend für die Kalibrierung und Validierung Finiter Elemente (FE) Simulationen herangezogen, wobei simulationsseitig sowohl der Prozess des Laserstrahlschmelzens als auch die nachgelagerte mechanische Charakterisierung berücksichtigt wurden. Die hier präsentierten Ergebnisse sollen als Basis sowohl für eine gezielte Anordnung der Einheitszellen zu maßgeschneiderten Gitterstrukturen dienen als auch für die numerische Auswertung der lokal variierenden Eigenschaften der somit resultierenden Strukturen.

Microstructure and micro-mechanical characterization of as-built and heat-treated samples of Hastelloy X produced by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process has been carried out in this study. As-built LPBF blocks were solution heat-treated at 1177°C and 1220°C followed by fast cooling. The microstructure of as-built and heat-treated samples were studied by light optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction. Instrumented indentation micro Vickers testing was performed to obtain microhardness and elastic modulus of asbuilt and heat-treated samples. Microtensile samples from as-built and heat-treated blocks were prepared and polished for mechanical characterization. Microtensile testing inside the scanning electron microscope was performed to evaluate the mechanical properties and to get information about the microstructural changes during plastic deformation. Microstructure characterization revealed disrupted epitaxial grain growth for the as-built samples whereas the two heated-treated Hastelloy X samples exhibited equiaxed grains with varying twin fractions. As-built Hastelloy X samples exhibited higher mean hardness than heat-treated samples. The yield strength of as-built samples reveals higher values as compared to conventional wrought Hastelloy X samples, whereas lower yield strength and higher elongation were observed for heat-treated samples as compared to as-built samples. Higher elongation and lower yield strength values were observed for the samples solution heat-treated at 1220°C compared to the solution heat-treated at 1177°C. Microstructural evaluation at different plastic strains during in-situ microtensile testing reveals a clear difference in dislocation density for as-built and heat-treated samples.