Mechanical response and deformation mechanisms of ferritic oxide dispersion strengthened steel structures produced by selective laser melting

Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) ferritic steels typically contain a fine dispersion of nanoscopic Y(Al, Ti) oxides, leading to an improvement in mechanical and physical properties. A rapid prototyping technique, selective laser melting (SLM), was successfully applied to consolidate as-mechanically alloyed ODS-PM2000 (Fe–19Cr–5.5Al–0.5Ti–0.5Y2O3; all wt.%) powder to fabricate solid and thin-walled builds of different thickness. This work is intended to act as a first study to investigate the tensile response of such configurations at room temperature, using miniaturized test specimens along and perpendicular to the growth direction. The 0.2% offset yield strength of as-grown wall builds was inferior to conventional PM2000 alloy (recrystallized), but could be significantly increased by conducting post-build heat treatments. Young’s modulus and yield strength showed anisotropy and were enhanced when testing perpendicular to the build growth direction. Electron backscatter diffraction revealed a strong [0 0 1] fibre texture along the growth direction, which explains the anisotropic behaviour. Additionally, studies on the morphology of the individual fracture surfaces, the grain structure of the cross-section near this region and the size distribution of ODS particles in such builds were conducted. A fine dispersion of precipitates was retained in all SLM builds, and findings suggest that a certain amount of Y is probably still in atomic solution in the as-grown condition and forms new small nanoscopic dispersoids during annealing, which lead to enhanced strengthening.