Manufacturing oxide-dispersion-strengthened steels using the advanced directed energy deposition process of high-speed laser cladding

In this work, we demonstrate the feasibility of manufacturing an iron-based oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) PM2000 composite material with the chemical composition of Fe20Cr4.5Al0.5Ti + 0.5Y2O3 (in wt.%) via the advanced directed energy deposition (DED) process of high-speed laser cladding (HSLC). The characteristic high solidification rates of HSLC processes allow the successful dispersion of nano-scaled yttrium-based oxides in the ferritic stainless steel matrix. The effective suppression of nano-particle agglomeration during the melting stage, which is frequently observed in conventional DED processes of ODS materials, is reflected by smaller dispersoid sizes and corresponding higher hardness of manufactured specimen compared to DED-manufactured counterparts.