Effect of solution-aging treatment on the microstructure and hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility in laser-powder bed fusion maraging steel
Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) is one of the key issues limiting the application of laser-powder bed fusion (LPBF) 18Ni-300 maraging steels. This investigation compares the impact of solution-aging treatment parameter, i.e., solution + conventional aging treatment (SCAT, 820 °C × 1h + 490 °C × 6h), and...
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of Materials Research and Technology |
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| author | Nan Zhou Youpeng Xie Yuyan Xiao Xiaoyu Wang Zhixian Peng Zhaoyang Cheng Jing Liu Feng Huang Shiqi Zhang |
| author_facet | Nan Zhou Youpeng Xie Yuyan Xiao Xiaoyu Wang Zhixian Peng Zhaoyang Cheng Jing Liu Feng Huang Shiqi Zhang |
| author_sort | Nan Zhou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) is one of the key issues limiting the application of laser-powder bed fusion (LPBF) 18Ni-300 maraging steels. This investigation compares the impact of solution-aging treatment parameter, i.e., solution + conventional aging treatment (SCAT, 820 °C × 1h + 490 °C × 6h), and a solution + long-term low-temperature aging (SLAT, 820 °C × 1h + 390 °C × 9h) on the HE of LPBF 18Ni-300 steel. The results indicate that although these two heat-treatment processes lead to decomposition of cellular structures and coarsen of grains, they also form a substantial volume of precipitates that serve as hydrogen traps, thereby increasing the overall hydrogen trap density and reducing hydrogen diffusively. Compared with SCAT steel, despite the precipitates formed in the SLAT steel transform to ω phase with a smaller volume fraction, but its grain size is smaller, thereby exhibiting slightly lower hydrogen diffusion coefficient. Crack observation indicates that after solution-aging treatment, the possibility of intergranular cracking increases, the promotion of dislocation multiplication by hydrogen is suppressed, and the contribution of the hydrogen-enhanced decohesion mechanism to HE fracture increased. The slow strain rate tests further reveal solution-aging reduces HE resistance, which primarily caused by the vanishment of cellular structures, grain coarsening, the additional reversible H-traps provided by precipitates, and the enhancement in strength. In comparison to SLAT, the steel subjected to SCAT demonstrates a marginal rise in austenite content and a further optimization in the proportion of Σ3/Σ11 grain boundaries, consequently displaying a reduced HE susceptibility. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4d5a860500944bcd88a01ec0d928580c |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2238-7854 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Materials Research and Technology |
| spelling | doaj-art-4d5a860500944bcd88a01ec0d928580c2025-08-20T03:08:33ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542025-07-01375593560610.1016/j.jmrt.2025.07.151Effect of solution-aging treatment on the microstructure and hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility in laser-powder bed fusion maraging steelNan Zhou0Youpeng Xie1Yuyan Xiao2Xiaoyu Wang3Zhixian Peng4Zhaoyang Cheng5Jing Liu6Feng Huang7Shiqi Zhang8Faculty of Materials, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, China; Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, ChinaFaculty of Materials, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, ChinaFaculty of Materials, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, ChinaFaculty of Materials, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, ChinaFaculty of Materials, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, China; Hubei Engineering Technology Research Centre of Marine Materials and Service Safety, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, ChinaFaculty of Materials, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, China; Hubei Engineering Technology Research Centre of Marine Materials and Service Safety, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Energy Materials Service Safety, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China; Faculty of Materials, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, ChinaFaculty of Materials, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, ChinaFaculty of Materials, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, China; Hubei Engineering Technology Research Centre of Marine Materials and Service Safety, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, China; Corresponding author. Faculty of Materials, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430081, China.Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) is one of the key issues limiting the application of laser-powder bed fusion (LPBF) 18Ni-300 maraging steels. This investigation compares the impact of solution-aging treatment parameter, i.e., solution + conventional aging treatment (SCAT, 820 °C × 1h + 490 °C × 6h), and a solution + long-term low-temperature aging (SLAT, 820 °C × 1h + 390 °C × 9h) on the HE of LPBF 18Ni-300 steel. The results indicate that although these two heat-treatment processes lead to decomposition of cellular structures and coarsen of grains, they also form a substantial volume of precipitates that serve as hydrogen traps, thereby increasing the overall hydrogen trap density and reducing hydrogen diffusively. Compared with SCAT steel, despite the precipitates formed in the SLAT steel transform to ω phase with a smaller volume fraction, but its grain size is smaller, thereby exhibiting slightly lower hydrogen diffusion coefficient. Crack observation indicates that after solution-aging treatment, the possibility of intergranular cracking increases, the promotion of dislocation multiplication by hydrogen is suppressed, and the contribution of the hydrogen-enhanced decohesion mechanism to HE fracture increased. The slow strain rate tests further reveal solution-aging reduces HE resistance, which primarily caused by the vanishment of cellular structures, grain coarsening, the additional reversible H-traps provided by precipitates, and the enhancement in strength. In comparison to SLAT, the steel subjected to SCAT demonstrates a marginal rise in austenite content and a further optimization in the proportion of Σ3/Σ11 grain boundaries, consequently displaying a reduced HE susceptibility.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425018101Laser-powder bed fusionMaraging steelSolution-agingHydrogen diffusionHydrogen embrittlement |
| spellingShingle | Nan Zhou Youpeng Xie Yuyan Xiao Xiaoyu Wang Zhixian Peng Zhaoyang Cheng Jing Liu Feng Huang Shiqi Zhang Effect of solution-aging treatment on the microstructure and hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility in laser-powder bed fusion maraging steel Journal of Materials Research and Technology Laser-powder bed fusion Maraging steel Solution-aging Hydrogen diffusion Hydrogen embrittlement |
| title | Effect of solution-aging treatment on the microstructure and hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility in laser-powder bed fusion maraging steel |
| title_full | Effect of solution-aging treatment on the microstructure and hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility in laser-powder bed fusion maraging steel |
| title_fullStr | Effect of solution-aging treatment on the microstructure and hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility in laser-powder bed fusion maraging steel |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of solution-aging treatment on the microstructure and hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility in laser-powder bed fusion maraging steel |
| title_short | Effect of solution-aging treatment on the microstructure and hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility in laser-powder bed fusion maraging steel |
| title_sort | effect of solution aging treatment on the microstructure and hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility in laser powder bed fusion maraging steel |
| topic | Laser-powder bed fusion Maraging steel Solution-aging Hydrogen diffusion Hydrogen embrittlement |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425018101 |
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