Mechanical characterization of wire arc additive manufactured and cast Inconel 825: A comparative study

The aim of this research is to compare the microstructural behaviour and mechanical characteristics of Inconel 825, a nickel-based superalloy made through wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) and casting. WAAM based on Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) was utilised to create a rectangular wall measuring 160 mm x 120 mm x 20 mm. Room temperature tensile testing, hot tensile testing, and microhardness testing were used to analyse the mechanical properties of the WAAMed Inconel 825 wall and cast inconel 825. The microstructures of as-deposited WAAMed Inconel 825 and cast Inconel 825 were studied using scanning electron microscopy. The WAAMed Inconel 825 specimens had higher UTS and YS than the cast samples. Vertical samples exhibit higher UTS and YS than horizontal samples. Because of columnar grain development, vertical samples have a larger percentage elongation than horizontal ones. The WAAM samples micro hardness varies from bottom to top. The values are higher near the substrate (276 Hv) and decrease near the top (256 Hv) due to coarse grains. The fine, uniform distribution of dimples and micro-voids in the SEM micrograph of the cracked WAAMed specimen clearly reveals the fracture was ductile in nature. Copyright (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Second International Conference on Engineering Materials, Metallurgy and Manufacturing.