Design of Silicide-Strengthened Nb–Si–Cr–(Mo) alloys for additive manufacturing

Alice Perrin; Patxi Fernandez-Zelaia; Chris Ledford; Yan Ru Lin; Ellen Berry; Ryan Dehoff; Michael Kirka; Ying Yang

doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2025.113616

Design of Silicide-Strengthened Nb–Si–Cr–(Mo) alloys for additive manufacturing

Alice Perrin
, Patxi Fernandez-Zelaia
, Chris Ledford
, Yan Ru Lin
, Ellen Berry
, Ryan Dehoff
, Michael Kirka
, Ying Yang

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Three high–intermetallic volume Nb–Si–Cr–(Mo) alloys were designed using CALPHAD modeling with the goal of identifying high–specific strength, oxidation-resistant alloys that can be additively manufactured using powder bed fusion. The silicides Nb₅Si₃ and Nb₉Si₂Cr₃ were targeted as the primary strengthening phases, and the addition of Cr promoted the NbCr₂ phase. These alloys were cast and surface-processed with electron beam welding at different speeds to simulate additive manufacturing, and the phases and microstructures of both cast and welded regions were characterized. The weld processing was found to produce fine-grained microstructures in each alloy with fine-scale intermetallics uniformly distributed among a body-centered cubic Nb matrix. Microstructural refinement and hardness were found to increase with weld velocity; one alloy reached its highest hardness of approximately 16 GPa before the brittleness at higher velocities became detrimental. One alloy was found to be qualitatively the least brittle while also attaining a hardness of 13 GPa and was therefore identified as a good candidate for additive manufacturing.

Original language	English
Article number	113616
Journal	Materials and Design
Volume	251
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2025.113616
State	Published - Mar 2025

Funding

Research was cosponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory and the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Advanced Manufacturing Office and Vehicle Technologies Office (AMMTO) Propulsion Materials Program. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the DOE. A portion of this research was performed at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, an EERE user facility supported by AMMTO and operated by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Transmission electron microscopy analysis was performed at the Low Activation Materials Development and Analysis laboratory, a DOE Office of Science research facility operated by ORNL. The authors would like to thank Andres Marquez Rossy, Sarah Graham, and Jefferey Baxter for assistance with sample preparation and nanoindentation. We would also like to thank Weicheng Zhong and Jose Arregui Mena for assistance with TEM/STEM imaging, and Wei Tang for advice regarding welding microstructures. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( https://www.energy.gov/doe-public-access-plan )..

Keywords

Alloy design
CALPHAD
Intermetallics
Niobium
Refractory
Silicides

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10.1016/j.matdes.2025.113616

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title = "Design of Silicide-Strengthened Nb–Si–Cr–(Mo) alloys for additive manufacturing",

abstract = "Three high–intermetallic volume Nb–Si–Cr–(Mo) alloys were designed using CALPHAD modeling with the goal of identifying high–specific strength, oxidation-resistant alloys that can be additively manufactured using powder bed fusion. The silicides Nb5Si3 and Nb9Si2Cr3 were targeted as the primary strengthening phases, and the addition of Cr promoted the NbCr2 phase. These alloys were cast and surface-processed with electron beam welding at different speeds to simulate additive manufacturing, and the phases and microstructures of both cast and welded regions were characterized. The weld processing was found to produce fine-grained microstructures in each alloy with fine-scale intermetallics uniformly distributed among a body-centered cubic Nb matrix. Microstructural refinement and hardness were found to increase with weld velocity; one alloy reached its highest hardness of approximately 16 GPa before the brittleness at higher velocities became detrimental. One alloy was found to be qualitatively the least brittle while also attaining a hardness of 13 GPa and was therefore identified as a good candidate for additive manufacturing.",

keywords = "Alloy design, CALPHAD, Intermetallics, Niobium, Refractory, Silicides",

author = "Alice Perrin and Patxi Fernandez-Zelaia and Chris Ledford and Lin, \{Yan Ru\} and Ellen Berry and Ryan Dehoff and Michael Kirka and Ying Yang",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 The Author(s)",

year = "2025",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1016/j.matdes.2025.113616",

language = "English",

volume = "251",

journal = "Materials and Design",

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T1 - Design of Silicide-Strengthened Nb–Si–Cr–(Mo) alloys for additive manufacturing

AU - Perrin, Alice

AU - Fernandez-Zelaia, Patxi

AU - Ledford, Chris

AU - Lin, Yan Ru

AU - Berry, Ellen

AU - Dehoff, Ryan

AU - Kirka, Michael

AU - Yang, Ying

PY - 2025/3

Y1 - 2025/3

N2 - Three high–intermetallic volume Nb–Si–Cr–(Mo) alloys were designed using CALPHAD modeling with the goal of identifying high–specific strength, oxidation-resistant alloys that can be additively manufactured using powder bed fusion. The silicides Nb5Si3 and Nb9Si2Cr3 were targeted as the primary strengthening phases, and the addition of Cr promoted the NbCr2 phase. These alloys were cast and surface-processed with electron beam welding at different speeds to simulate additive manufacturing, and the phases and microstructures of both cast and welded regions were characterized. The weld processing was found to produce fine-grained microstructures in each alloy with fine-scale intermetallics uniformly distributed among a body-centered cubic Nb matrix. Microstructural refinement and hardness were found to increase with weld velocity; one alloy reached its highest hardness of approximately 16 GPa before the brittleness at higher velocities became detrimental. One alloy was found to be qualitatively the least brittle while also attaining a hardness of 13 GPa and was therefore identified as a good candidate for additive manufacturing.

AB - Three high–intermetallic volume Nb–Si–Cr–(Mo) alloys were designed using CALPHAD modeling with the goal of identifying high–specific strength, oxidation-resistant alloys that can be additively manufactured using powder bed fusion. The silicides Nb5Si3 and Nb9Si2Cr3 were targeted as the primary strengthening phases, and the addition of Cr promoted the NbCr2 phase. These alloys were cast and surface-processed with electron beam welding at different speeds to simulate additive manufacturing, and the phases and microstructures of both cast and welded regions were characterized. The weld processing was found to produce fine-grained microstructures in each alloy with fine-scale intermetallics uniformly distributed among a body-centered cubic Nb matrix. Microstructural refinement and hardness were found to increase with weld velocity; one alloy reached its highest hardness of approximately 16 GPa before the brittleness at higher velocities became detrimental. One alloy was found to be qualitatively the least brittle while also attaining a hardness of 13 GPa and was therefore identified as a good candidate for additive manufacturing.

KW - Alloy design

KW - CALPHAD

KW - Intermetallics

KW - Niobium

KW - Refractory

KW - Silicides

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85217005162

U2 - 10.1016/j.matdes.2025.113616

DO - 10.1016/j.matdes.2025.113616

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85217005162

SN - 0264-1275

VL - 251

JO - Materials and Design

JF - Materials and Design

M1 - 113616

ER -

Design of Silicide-Strengthened Nb–Si–Cr–(Mo) alloys for additive manufacturing

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Keywords

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