On the Hot Deformation of a Fe-Al-Ta Iron Aluminide Prepared via Laser Powder Bed Fusion

In the present work, a combined process of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) and hot working in terms of microstructure refinement was investigated for Fe-25Al-1.5Ta alloy samples. Uniaxial compression tests were carried out parallel and perpendicular to the building direction (BD) at 1000 degrees C, where BCC A2-phase was stable, at a strain rate of 0.0013 s(-1). The true stress-true strain curves indicated a broad flow stress peak followed by a slight decrease, which is typical for dynamic recrystallization (DRX) of conventional BCC metals such as ferritic iron. A negligible dependence in the flow stress behavior on the compression direction was observed. DRX initiated at a stress of 18.7 MPa for the sample compressed parallel to the BD, corresponding to a true strain of 0.011, and at 18.1 MPa for the samples compressed normal to the BD, which corresponded to a true strain of 0.010. The microstructural investigations by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) showed that the relatively coarse and elongated grains of the as-LPBF builds were significantly refined after hot working. The microstructure of the compressed samples mainly consisted deformed grains. These were fragmented by sub-grains bounded by low-angle boundaries independent of the compression axis, indicating the occurrence of dynamic recovery (DRV) during hot working. In addition, a few equiaxed, small grains were observed in the pre-existing grain boundaries, which formed due to DRX. Most pores in the as-LPBF builds were closed after hot compression, particularly in the central region of the deformed specimens where the compressive stress state is dominant. In summary, hot compression reveals a practical thermomechanical post-processing treatment for Fe-Al-Ta iron aluminides built by LPBF. The hot working refines the epitaxially elongated microstructure of the as-LPBF builds by DRV/DRX and reduces the porosity.