Electron beam melting of niobium alloys from blended powders

Jameson P. Hankwitz; Christopher Ledford; Christopher Rock; Scott O’dell; Timothy J. Horn

doi:10.3390/ma14195536

Electron beam melting of niobium alloys from blended powders

Jameson P. Hankwitz, Christopher Ledford, Christopher Rock, Scott O’dell, Timothy J. Horn

Deposition Science and Technology

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

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Niobium-based tungsten alloys are desirable for high-temperature structural applications yet are restricted in practice by limited room-temperature ductility and fabricability. Powder bed fusion additive manufacturing is one technology that could be leveraged to process alloys with limited ductility, without the need for pre-alloying. A custom electron beam powder bed fusion machine was used to demonstrate the processability of blended Nb-1Zr, Nb-10W-1Zr-0.1C, and Nb-20W-1Zr-0.1C powders, with resulting solid optical densities of 99+%. Ultimately, post-processing heat treatments were required to increase tungsten diffusion in niobium, as well as to attain satisfactory mechanical properties.

Original language	English
Article number	5536
Journal	Materials
Volume	14
Issue number	19
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14195536
State	Published - Oct 1 2021

Funding

Acknowledgments: This work was performed in part at the Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) at North Carolina State University, which is supported by the State of North Carolina and the National Science Foundation (award number ECCS-2025064). The AIF is a member of the North Carolina Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN), a site in the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI). This work was supported by NASA Phase 1 SBIR No. 80NSSC18P2157.

Funders	Funder number
National Science Foundation	ECCS-2025064
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	80NSSC18P2157
North Carolina State University

Keywords

Additive manufacturing
High-strength metal alloys
Niobium
Plasma spheroidization
Tungsten
Zirconium

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.3390/ma14195536

Cite this

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abstract = "Niobium-based tungsten alloys are desirable for high-temperature structural applications yet are restricted in practice by limited room-temperature ductility and fabricability. Powder bed fusion additive manufacturing is one technology that could be leveraged to process alloys with limited ductility, without the need for pre-alloying. A custom electron beam powder bed fusion machine was used to demonstrate the processability of blended Nb-1Zr, Nb-10W-1Zr-0.1C, and Nb-20W-1Zr-0.1C powders, with resulting solid optical densities of 99+%. Ultimately, post-processing heat treatments were required to increase tungsten diffusion in niobium, as well as to attain satisfactory mechanical properties.",

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AU - Ledford, Christopher

AU - Rock, Christopher

AU - O’dell, Scott

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N2 - Niobium-based tungsten alloys are desirable for high-temperature structural applications yet are restricted in practice by limited room-temperature ductility and fabricability. Powder bed fusion additive manufacturing is one technology that could be leveraged to process alloys with limited ductility, without the need for pre-alloying. A custom electron beam powder bed fusion machine was used to demonstrate the processability of blended Nb-1Zr, Nb-10W-1Zr-0.1C, and Nb-20W-1Zr-0.1C powders, with resulting solid optical densities of 99+%. Ultimately, post-processing heat treatments were required to increase tungsten diffusion in niobium, as well as to attain satisfactory mechanical properties.

AB - Niobium-based tungsten alloys are desirable for high-temperature structural applications yet are restricted in practice by limited room-temperature ductility and fabricability. Powder bed fusion additive manufacturing is one technology that could be leveraged to process alloys with limited ductility, without the need for pre-alloying. A custom electron beam powder bed fusion machine was used to demonstrate the processability of blended Nb-1Zr, Nb-10W-1Zr-0.1C, and Nb-20W-1Zr-0.1C powders, with resulting solid optical densities of 99+%. Ultimately, post-processing heat treatments were required to increase tungsten diffusion in niobium, as well as to attain satisfactory mechanical properties.

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KW - Zirconium

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Electron beam melting of niobium alloys from blended powders

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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