The objective of this work is to study the possibility of obtaining dense parts using water atomized AISI 316L steel powder in the L-PBF process. Despite its irregular, non-spherical, particle morphology, it has a significantly lower cost. 25 samples were produced varying the laser power and the scanning speeds to determine the optimal processing conditions. Additionally, hot isostatic pressing (HIP) was performed after the L-PBF process to further increase densification. Selected samples were subjected to microstructural characterization. The best densification results obtained were for the sample produced with the laser power of 173 W and scanning speed of 600 mm/s, where densifications close to 98% were obtained. HIP post-processing promoted increased densification of samples with closed porosity, allowing samples with densification above 95% to reach values close to 100%. HIP did not promote the closure of open pores. The results indicate that the use of water atomized AISI 316L in the L-PBF process combined with post-processing by HIP can produce dense engineering components and at the same time reduce the production costs of the manufactured components, mainly because it is a lower cost raw material when compared to the commonly used feedstock obtained by gas atomization.

Parameter optimization is an important step in the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), since process defects greatly impact the mechanical properties of the final parts, especially in components that undergo cyclic loading, such as molds and dies. The present study used the H13 tool steel to show that it is possible to perform a good parameter optimization quickly and with relatively few samples. The Box-Behnken experiment design model was used along with the application of the response surface methodology. Laser power, scan speed, and hatch spacing were used as independent variables, and density and porosity were chosen as the response. Power and speed most influenced the responses, but the interaction between power and speed, and power and hatch also had a significant influence. New optimized samples showed lowest porosity, confirming the effectiveness of the model. Density can be used during parameter optimization without impairing the optimization quality.

Abstract AlCoCrFeNi alloys are widely studied due to the combination of high strength in a wide temperature range, good corrosion and wear resistance, but they typically present low ductility. Due to this limited ductility, traditional bulk fabrication processes that involve forming are difficult, and casting processes are also non-ideal due to pronounced segregation and coarse microstructure. Therefore, both the selective laser melting and the powder metallurgy are more promising routes for this alloy, both of these use powder as starting material. This work aimed to produce powder of Al20Co20Cr20Fe20Ni20 alloy by gas atomization and to perform its detailed characterization.The results show that the powder is mainly spherical, which resulted in good flowability. Most of the powder (62%) has a size smaller than 75µm, and microscopy analyses confirmed that a B2 dendritic microstructure was formed, with A2 cuboidal precipitates.

Resumo: O presente trabalho teve como objetivo a determinação dos parâmetros ótimos do processo de manufatura aditiva de Fusão Seletiva a Laser (FSL) para o aço 316L visando a obtenção de peças com alta densidade, utilizando equipamento fabricado no Brasil. Foi realizada também uma completa caracterização estrutural tanto da matéria prima utilizada (pó comercial) quanto das peças mais densas obtidas. As propriedades mecânicas das peças produzidas por FSL também foram avaliadas e comparadas com peça fabricada de forma convencional. Foi observado que a densidade das peças aumenta com o aumento da densidade volumétrica de energia fornecida pelo laser até atingir um patamar de máxima densidade. Um modelo polinomial foi proposto correlacionando a densidade volumétrica de energia utilizada com a densidade final da peça. As peças produzidas por FSL mostraram uma elevada densificação (densidade relativa superior a 99,49%) com uma reduzida porosidade homogeneamente dispersa no material. Uma microestrutura austenítica celular, típica do processo FSL, foi obtida. A dureza e a microestrutura das peças se mostrou constante ao longo do comprimento das mesmas e os resultados obtidos em ensaio de compressão mostraram que as peças obtidas por FSL possuem uma resistência mecânica e ductilidade próximas às observadas para amostra fabricada de forma convencional.

Abstract: The present study aimed to determine the optimum parameters for the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) additive manufacturing process of 316L steel in order to obtain high density parts, using equipment manufactured in Brazil. It was also carried out a complete structural characterization of both the raw material used (commercial powder) and the denser parts obtained. The mechanical properties of the parts produced by SLM were also evaluated and compared with parts manufactured by conventional methods. It was observed that the parts’ density increases with increasing energy density applied by the laser until maximum and constant density level is reached. A polynomial model was proposed correlating the energy density used with the final part density. The parts produced by SLM showed high densification (relative density greater than 99,49%) with low porosity homogeneously dispersed in the material. A cellular austenitic microstructure, typical of SLM process, was obtained. The hardness and microstructure of the parts are constant throughout their length and the compression test results showed that parts manufactured by SLM have strength and ductility similar to those manufactured by conventional methods.

The objective of this work was the conformation of ribbons from Sn3Zn alloy and Sn pure, using the melt-spinning fast cooling technique, in order to investigate the applicability as biomaterial. The ribbons were coated with 1% poly-caprolactone (PCL) and subsequent incorporation of silver nanoparticles (NPAg). In the uncoated ribbon was observing a surface roughness due of agglomerate caused by rapid solidification. In the ribbon coated with PCL and NPAg incorporation, it was observed that these compounds adhered to the ribbon. X-ray diffraction analysis showed no ribbons amorphization. The analysis by differential scanning calorimetry, indicated that the Sn3Zn ribbon had a lower melting temperature (198.1°C) than the Sn ribbon (228.7°C). The microhardness of Sn3Zn ribbon was 13.38 HV and Sn ribbon was 11.00 HV, both for the face without contact with the cooling wheel. In the bioactivity assays, performed in simulated body fluid medium, all samples showed apatites formation after four weeks of testing.

An alternative route to obtain bulk metallic glasses is by consolidation of metallic glass powders by deforming these materials in the temperature interval between the crystallization temperature and the glass transition temperature, where the material flows with a reduced viscosity. In the present work, bulk parts of the Fe43.2Co28.8B19.2Si4.8Nb4 alloy were produced by hot-pressing gas-atomized powders (GAP) under different uniaxial pressures. Different microstructural analysis revealed that the initial powder as well as the consolidated parts were mostly amorphous, with similar transformation temperatures, showing that bulk samples of this alloy can be produced by conformation in the supercooled liquid region. The sample conformed under the highest pressure (1GPa) exhibited the highest relative density of 96.1±0.5%. These results show that hot pressing of Fe-based gas-atomized powders is a promising route for producing Fe-based bulk metallic glasses.

RESUMO A simulação em Dinâmica Molecular (MD) é uma poderosa ferramenta para estudo de ligas amorfas nanométricas. Neste artigo, a MD foi empregada para o estudo da liga Ni80Cu20. As simulações foram realizadas com o código livre LAMMPS, em um sistema contendo 2.000 átomos com interação atômica dada pelo potencial de Finnis-Sinclair (EAM-FS). O aquecimento foi realizado à taxa de 2 K/ps, entretanto, no resfriamento foram utilizadas as taxas de 40, 10, 4, 3, 2 e 1 K/ps, com a finalidade de se observar a evolução estrutural da liga. Taxas superiores a 3 K/ps conduzem à formação de estrutura amorfa. Por outro lado, taxas inferiores a esta permitem ao sistema formar uma estrutura cristalina Cúbica de Face Centrada (CFC). A estrutura da liga foi analisada empregando-se Funções de Distribuição Radial (RDF), os poliedros de Voronoi, e Common Neighbor Analysis (CNA). Além disto, foram realizados estudos de tratamento térmico tanto em modo dinâmico à taxa de resfriamento de 40 K/ps como isotérmico com a finalidade de observar a cristalização da liga amorfa. A curva tensão vs deformação indica que a presença de 20 % de nanocristais eleva a resistência mecânica sem afetar o módulo elástico. Com esta fração, que se forma por efeito do tratamento térmico, o limite de resistência é aumentado em mais de 30 %.

ABSTRACT Molecular Dynamics (MD) is a powerful tool for the study of nanometric amorphous alloys. In the present work, MD was used to investigate the Ni80Cu20 alloy. The simulations were performed by using the free code LAMMPS, for a system containing 2,000 atoms. The atomic interaction was governed by Finnis-Sinclair (EAM-FS) potential. The heating was controlled by a rate 2 K/ps, however, the cooling stage used the following rates 40, 10, 4, 3, 2 and 1 K/ps, in order to observe the structural evolution of the alloy. Rates higher than 3 K/ps produce an amorphous structure. On the other hand, lower rates allow the formation of Cubic Face Centered (CFC) crystals. The alloy structure was analyzed by Radial Distribution Function (RDF), Voronoi polyhedrons, and Common Neighbor Analysis (CNA). Moreover, studies on the heat treatment with cooling rate at 40 K/ps as well as isothermal condition were performed to know the crystallization process of glassy alloy. The stress-strain curve indicates the presence of 20 % of nanocrystal increases the mechanical resistance without jeopardizing the elastic modulus. This fraction, resulting of heat treatment, increases the ultimate tensile strength at least 30 %.

Cu-based shape memory alloys (SMAs) present some advantages as higher transformation temperatures, lower costs and are easier to process than traditional Ti-based SMAs but they also show some disadvantages as low ductility and higher tendency for intergranular cracking. Several studies have sought for a way to improve the mechanical properties of these alloys and microstructural refinement has been frequently used. It can be obtained by laser remelting treatments. The aim of the present work was to investigate the influence of the laser surface remelting on the microstructure of a Cu-11.85Al-3.2Ni-3Mn (wt%) SMA. Plates were remelted using three different laser scanning speeds, i.e. 100, 300 and 500 mm/s. The remelted regions showed a T-shape morphology with a mean thickness of 52, 29 and 23 µm and an average grain size of 30, 29 and 23µm for plates remelted using scanning speed of 100, 300 and 500 mm/s, respectively. In the plates remelted with 100 and 300 mm/s some pores were found at the root of the keyhole due to the keyhole instability. We find that the instability of keyholes becomes more pronounced for lower scanning speeds. It was not observed any preferential orientation introduced by the laser treatment.

MoS2 powder has been used to form "self-lubricating" composite coatings, which are very useful to increase the lifetime of machines where liquid lubricants cannot be used. In this work, amorphous overspray powder of Fe60Cr8Nb8B24 (at%) alloy was mixed with 5wt.% MoS2 powder and it was used to produce single tracks on AISI 1020 steel substrates by laser cladding. The tracks were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Vickers microhardness. It was observed α-Fe, an Nb-rich intermetallic and MoS2 particles in the tracks, regardless of laser parameter used. DSC analyses proved the presence of amorphous phase for samples produced with parameters 200W/33.3mm/s, 600W/100mm/s, 800W/100mm/s and 800W/150mm/s. The tracks produced with larger power (800W) and higher scanning speeds (100 and 150mm/s) exhibited a better integrity and homogeneity, lower dilution and presence of amorphous phase, being these parameters considered the most appropriate to produce composite coatings of Fe60Cr8Nb8B24 (at%)/5wt% MoS2 containing amorphous phase. Hardness tests showed that the single tracks produced are harder than the substrate, for example, the track produced with 800W/150mm/s exhibits hardness six times higher than the steel substrate, 1200 HV0.3 and 200 HV0.3, respectively.

The Ni57Nb33Zr5Co5 metallic glass is a promising alloy for bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. It is important to know which phase forms in this alloy under different cooling rates in order to understand its influence on the thermal stability and mechanical properties. In this work, melt-spun ribbons and rod samples with 1, 2 and 3 mm diameters were prepared and their phase formation, microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and microhardness. It is found that a completely crystalline structure forms in the lower cooling rate samples (2 and 3 mm diameter rods) with the presence of the equilibrium phases Ni3(Nb,Zr) and Nb7Ni6 as primary phases or as a very fine eutectic structure, while a fully glassy structure is attained in the samples with the highest cooling rate (ribbons). For the sample with an intermediate cooling rate (1 mm diameter rod), polymorphically crystals of an unknown metastable phase with spherical morphology precipitate in the glassy matrix with virtually the same composition as the matrix. The 2 mm diameter sample exhibits higher hardness than the other samples, which is attributed to its very fine eutectic colonies.

Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing process used to produce parts with complex geometries layer by layer. This rapid solidification method allows fabricating samples in a non-equilibrium state and with refined microstructure. In this work, this method is used to fabricate 3 mm diameter rods of a Cu-based shape memory alloy. The phase formation, thermal stability and mechanical properties were investigated and correlated. Samples with a relative density higher than 92% and without cracks were obtained. A single monoclinic martensitic phase was formed with average grain size ranging between 28 to 36 μm. The samples exhibit a reverse martensitic transformation temperature around 106 ± 2 °C and a large plasticity in compression (around 15±1%) with a typical “double-yielding” behaviour.

The microstructure and phase formation of rapid solidified Ag-rich Ag-Cu-Zr alloys were investigated. Two types of structure; interconnected- and droplet-type structures, were obtained due to phase separation mechanisms. The former was spinodal decomposition and the later was nucleation and growth mechanism. Depending on the alloy compositions, three crystalline phases; FCC-Ag, AgZr and Cu10Zr7 phases were observed along with an in-situ nanocrystalline/amorphous composite. Vickers hardness testing indicated a significant increase of hardness in the nanocrystalline/amorphous-composite alloy.