Improved properties of near-eutectic nickel silicide alloyed with vanadium, chromium, and carbon in inductively coupled plasma spheroidization for additive manufacturing

Nickel-rich silicides offer excellent hardness, thermal stability, corrosion and wear resistance. However, their application is limited by poor fracture resistance and a propensity for cracking, particularly when processed through conventional thermo-metallurgical methods. To address these limitatio...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Foysal Kabir Tareq, Geir Grasmo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Materials & Design
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026412752500797X
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849701595297611776
author Foysal Kabir Tareq
Geir Grasmo
author_facet Foysal Kabir Tareq
Geir Grasmo
author_sort Foysal Kabir Tareq
collection DOAJ
description Nickel-rich silicides offer excellent hardness, thermal stability, corrosion and wear resistance. However, their application is limited by poor fracture resistance and a propensity for cracking, particularly when processed through conventional thermo-metallurgical methods. To address these limitations, this study explores the enhancement of nickel-silicon alloy properties through alloying with V (5 wt%), Cr (3 wt%), and C (0.3 wt%). The Ni-12Si alloy features a Niss-Ni3Si eutectic with a γ-Ni31Si12 phase. Alloying elements refine the microstructure, are present as soluble constituents in the phases, stabilizing the γ-Ni31Si12, and introducing element-rich phase precipitation. Additionally, plasma spheroidization of these as-crushed powder was performed to improve powder characteristics for additive manufacturing. The spheroidization process, optimized by adjusting plasma power and powder feed rate, yields spherical powders with refined microstructures, and improved flowability, showing suitability for laser-based directed energy deposition (DED-LB). DED-LB deposition of spheroidized powders on S355 steel substrate showed the Ni-12Si bead exhibited solidification microcracks at the grain boundaries, whereas the alloyed variants Ni-11.4Si-5V, Ni-11.1Si-3Cr, and Ni-12Si-0.3C demonstrated flawless deposits with improved properties. These enhancements are attributed to the synergistic effects of alloying on phase evolution, microstructural refinement and transformation, and grain boundary modification through the formation of fine, element-rich precipitates at grain boundaries.
format Article
id doaj-art-516d4321f3f24e8396dfb86e40e595d9
institution DOAJ
issn 0264-1275
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Materials & Design
spelling doaj-art-516d4321f3f24e8396dfb86e40e595d92025-08-20T03:17:54ZengElsevierMaterials & Design0264-12752025-08-0125611437710.1016/j.matdes.2025.114377Improved properties of near-eutectic nickel silicide alloyed with vanadium, chromium, and carbon in inductively coupled plasma spheroidization for additive manufacturingFoysal Kabir Tareq0Geir Grasmo1Corresponding author.; Department of Engineering Sciences, University of Agder, Grimstad 4879, NorwayDepartment of Engineering Sciences, University of Agder, Grimstad 4879, NorwayNickel-rich silicides offer excellent hardness, thermal stability, corrosion and wear resistance. However, their application is limited by poor fracture resistance and a propensity for cracking, particularly when processed through conventional thermo-metallurgical methods. To address these limitations, this study explores the enhancement of nickel-silicon alloy properties through alloying with V (5 wt%), Cr (3 wt%), and C (0.3 wt%). The Ni-12Si alloy features a Niss-Ni3Si eutectic with a γ-Ni31Si12 phase. Alloying elements refine the microstructure, are present as soluble constituents in the phases, stabilizing the γ-Ni31Si12, and introducing element-rich phase precipitation. Additionally, plasma spheroidization of these as-crushed powder was performed to improve powder characteristics for additive manufacturing. The spheroidization process, optimized by adjusting plasma power and powder feed rate, yields spherical powders with refined microstructures, and improved flowability, showing suitability for laser-based directed energy deposition (DED-LB). DED-LB deposition of spheroidized powders on S355 steel substrate showed the Ni-12Si bead exhibited solidification microcracks at the grain boundaries, whereas the alloyed variants Ni-11.4Si-5V, Ni-11.1Si-3Cr, and Ni-12Si-0.3C demonstrated flawless deposits with improved properties. These enhancements are attributed to the synergistic effects of alloying on phase evolution, microstructural refinement and transformation, and grain boundary modification through the formation of fine, element-rich precipitates at grain boundaries.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026412752500797XAdditive manufacturingNickel-silicon-based alloysInductively coupled plasma spheroidizationMicrostructuresPhase transformationPhase precipitation
spellingShingle Foysal Kabir Tareq
Geir Grasmo
Improved properties of near-eutectic nickel silicide alloyed with vanadium, chromium, and carbon in inductively coupled plasma spheroidization for additive manufacturing
Materials & Design
Additive manufacturing
Nickel-silicon-based alloys
Inductively coupled plasma spheroidization
Microstructures
Phase transformation
Phase precipitation
title Improved properties of near-eutectic nickel silicide alloyed with vanadium, chromium, and carbon in inductively coupled plasma spheroidization for additive manufacturing
title_full Improved properties of near-eutectic nickel silicide alloyed with vanadium, chromium, and carbon in inductively coupled plasma spheroidization for additive manufacturing
title_fullStr Improved properties of near-eutectic nickel silicide alloyed with vanadium, chromium, and carbon in inductively coupled plasma spheroidization for additive manufacturing
title_full_unstemmed Improved properties of near-eutectic nickel silicide alloyed with vanadium, chromium, and carbon in inductively coupled plasma spheroidization for additive manufacturing
title_short Improved properties of near-eutectic nickel silicide alloyed with vanadium, chromium, and carbon in inductively coupled plasma spheroidization for additive manufacturing
title_sort improved properties of near eutectic nickel silicide alloyed with vanadium chromium and carbon in inductively coupled plasma spheroidization for additive manufacturing
topic Additive manufacturing
Nickel-silicon-based alloys
Inductively coupled plasma spheroidization
Microstructures
Phase transformation
Phase precipitation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026412752500797X
work_keys_str_mv AT foysalkabirtareq improvedpropertiesofneareutecticnickelsilicidealloyedwithvanadiumchromiumandcarbonininductivelycoupledplasmaspheroidizationforadditivemanufacturing
AT geirgrasmo improvedpropertiesofneareutecticnickelsilicidealloyedwithvanadiumchromiumandcarbonininductivelycoupledplasmaspheroidizationforadditivemanufacturing