See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/339759363

Microstructural Characteristics of Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing with

Inconel 625 by Super-TIG Welding

Article in Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals · March 2020

DOI: 10.1007/s12666-020-01915-x

CITATIONS READS

50 767

3 authors, including:

Murali Mohan Cheepu Sang-Myung Cho

Pukyong National University Pukyong National University
146 PUBLICATIONS 2,542 CITATIONS 46 PUBLICATIONS 351 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Murali Mohan Cheepu on 16 July 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Trans Indian Inst Met (2020) 73(6):1475–1479
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12666-020-01915-x

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Microstructural Characteristics of Wire Arc Additive

Manufacturing with Inconel 625 by Super-TIG Welding
Muralimohan Cheepu1 • Chang Ik Lee1 • Sang Myung Cho1

Received: 7 January 2020 / Accepted: 17 February 2020 / Published online: 6 March 2020
Ó The Indian Institute of Metals - IIM 2020

Abstract Nowadays, the implementation of additive 1 Introduction

manufacturing (AM) is rapidly growing in various sectors.
Many manufacturing industries are demanding an increase In recent years, the demand for additive manufacturing
in the size of the AM parts. Wire arc additive manufac- (AM) is growing continuously in the manufacturing sector
turing (WAAM) offers a high deposition rate and quality due to its excellence in producing high-quality parts. The
products without size limits. The welding process of gas reduction of materials and manufacturing cost, flexibility to
tungsten arc welding is widely used for WAAM. This use it for near net shape parts, and lead time reduction
paper introduces the WAAM process using Super-TIG make the AM more beneficial than other processes. The
welding by Inconel 625. Super-TIG welding is a kind of Inconel 625 super alloy has several applications in aero-
TIG welding process using C-Filler. The high deposition space, marine, chemical, and marine industries. The AM
rate of WAAM can be obtained using Super-TIG welding process has been applied for Inconel alloys to enhance its
to build large-scale components. The productivity of properties over conventional manufacturing methods. The
Super-TIG welding is higher than in conventional TIG arc as a heat source and filler wire as feedstock are denoted
welding. The layering strategies have been developed to to as wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) and has
refine the microstructure of the WAAM parts. The deposits been investigated for achieving better features in AM [1].
of the single-pass beads with oscillation have resulted in The demand for increasing productivity and reducing
the formation of larger grains with epitaxial grain growth. manufacturing cost using WAAM has been challenged by
However, the multi-pass beads with stringer and zig-zag attaining good mechanical and metallurgical properties of
layering sequences have refined the microstructure with the the parts [2]. The standard fusion welding processes such
presence of smaller grains. The influence of heat input on as gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), plasma arc welding
the WAAM properties along with layering strategies has (PAW), and gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes
also been observed. have been applied widely in the WAAM process.
WAAM system can produce high deposition rates for
Keywords Super-TIG welding
WAAM
Inconel 625
several alloys using suitable welding processes. Several
Microstructure
Grain refinement researchers have investigated the feasibility of building
AM parts for expensive materials such as Ni and Ti alloys
using the GTAW welding process [3]. Frazier et al. [4]
studied the WAAM of nickel aluminum bronze (NAB)
alloys and proved that the efficiency of the components is
better than the cast products. Some of the joining processes
such as GMAW, GTAW, electron beam welding (EBW),
& Sang Myung Cho and laser welding (LW) have been applied for AM. How-
[email protected]
ever, the deposition rate is not so high to fabricate large
1
Department of Materials System Engineering, Pukyong size AM parts. Arc or fusion welding methods of GMAW
National University, Busan 48547, Republic of Korea and GTAW have high efficiency (\ 90%) circumstances

123
1476 Trans Indian Inst Met (2020) 73(6):1475–1479

than the LW and EBW of low energy efficiency processes. 3 Results and Discussions
Comparatively, the rate of deposition and control over the
penetration depth at high welding currents and melting The deposition strategies have been varied to understand its
efficiency of the wire in CMT is better than the conven- impact on the properties of the WAAM samples. The
tional GMAW [5, 6]. In order to improve productivity, oscillation bead techniques have been applied for the sin-
evolving technologies are greatly needed to use high gle-layer deposits on consecutive layers in a single direc-
deposition rates in WAAM. tion. In the linear bead deposition method, three passes
In the present investigation, Super-TIG welding was have been used for 1 layer. The resolution of the 1 pass 1
used for the additive manufacturing of Inconel 625. Super- layer wall is smoother than the l layer multi-pass deposits.
TIG welding is a kind of TIG/GTAW welding process The resolution depends on the overlapping between two
using C-Filler [7–10]. In Super-TIG welding, a high adjacent beads. The overlapping distance has been opti-
welding current can be applied to melt the filler metal. The mized to obtain a flat plane while maintaining the over-
highest deposition rate of 6 kg/h was used for the WAAM lapping areas equal to the valley area of the beads. The
by Super-TIG welding. The microstructure of the WAAM macrostructure of the deposits clearly shows the uniform
was characterized to identify the grain growth. Various thickness of each layer with the presence of fusion
deposition layering methods were developed to improve boundaries (Fig. 1). The microstructure of the deposits has
the microstructure properties of the WAAM. The method been analyzed at different locations. The microstructural
demonstrated in this study should have the prospective to properties of the D1 samples consist of the same mor-
change conventional powder-based AM and arc-based AM phology throughout the length of the deposits. The rect-
to achieve high productivity and repeatability on the pro- angular box on the macrostructure (Fig. 1a) is shown
duction of WAAM parts. schematically in Fig. 1c. The fusion boundaries between
the pass 21 (P21) and pass 22 (P22) with the grain growth
direction are seen in Fig. 1b. The microstructure of the
2 Experimental Procedure columnar dendritic structure is distributed within the layer
and across the fusion boundaries. It grows as one-direc-
In this study, an SS400 low alloy carbon steel plate with a tional growth in Z ? direction continuously from bottom
thickness of 10 mm was used as a base substrate. The to top of the deposits. Also, grain growth has similar
composition of the base metal was 0.15C–0.16Si–0.45Mn– behavior and large grains are formed in the deposits. The
0.007P–0.009S–0.019Cr–0.01Ni, and the filler metal was grains grow larger across the layers continuing from the
0.1C–0.08Si–0.03Mn–22.24Cr–63.8Ni–8.67Mo–3.36Nb. previous layers. This kind of microstructure occurs in
In Super-TIG welding, the C-Filler acted as a feedstock and WAAM due to the remelting of successive layers during
then deposited in successive additive layers on the sub- AM. It tends to form the nucleation and epitaxial grain
strate. The welding setup was robotized with the attach- growth at the fusion boundary between the previous
ment of the C-Filler feeding unit. The feeding unit could solidified bead and liquid metal. Hence, the size of grains
control the C-Filler movements. The filler metal of from the previous layer has governed the transverse
ERNiCrMo-3 (alloy 625) was used to produce the AM columnar grains. The solidification mechanism of the epi-
deposits. The deposition rate of 3.2 and 6 kg/h was used for taxially columnar grain growth of the deposited layers
the WAAM. The deposition process parameters are given during AM is represented in Fig. 2a. The direction of
in Table 1. The parameters were decided with the consid- maximum heat flow in AM is mostly along the building of
erations of bead geometry. Three types of samples, such as layer’s direction; so it has resulted in the formation of
D1, D2, and D3 were deposited by the combination of continuous columnar grains from subsequent layers. Fig-
deposition methods with deposition rates of 3.2 kg/h and ure 2b illustrates the direction of the heat conduction,
6 kg/h (see Table 1). In total, 26 layers were deposited, which is opposite to the microstructure growth observed
making each layer height of 2 mm for 3 kg/h deposits. from the WAAM microstructure.
Whereas for 6 kg/h deposits in total, 20 layers were Figure 3 illustrates the microstructural features of the 1
deposited, making each layer height of 3 mm. Two dif- layer multi-passes AM deposits with zig-zag layering
ferent deposition methods, such as 1 layer 1 pass with sequence (D2). A significant difference in the layering
oscillation and 1 layer multi-pass with stringer and zig-zag method is observed compared to the 1 layer 1 pass deposits.
layering beads, were used for the WAAM. The samples The zig-zag nature of the deposits greatly modify the
were prepared, followed by the standard metallographic microstructure to refined microstructure with isotropic
procedure for microstructural analysis. properties. The microstructure of the deposits is different
from the grain orientation and size within the deposited

123
Trans Indian Inst Met (2020) 73(6):1475–1479 1477

Table 1 Experimental conditions used for WAAM

Base metal SS400, t10
Filler metal STC-625 (w:5, t:1)
Filler cross-section area 5 mm2
Shield gas Ar93% ? H27%, 25 l/min
Interpass temperature 80 °C
Current (A) 285 330
Feeding rate (cm/min) 125 238
Deposition rate (kg/h) 3.2 6.0
Welding speed (cm/min) 20 60 50
Deposition area (mm2) 31.2 10.4 23.8 Fig. 2 Schematic representation of a epitaxially columnar grain
Heat input (kJ/mm) 2.1 0.7 1.1 growth in WAAM [11], b direction of heat conduction and grain
Bead height (mm) 2 2 3 growth [12]
Sample type D1 D2 D3
Deposition method 1 layer 1 layer 3 pass 1 layer
partially between P80 and P83 due to the same direction of
the building. The pass P80 has the microstructure of partial
1 pass 3 pass
Z with P77 and partial Y(-) directional microstructure
with P79. However, the upper layer center bead contains a
length. Figure 3b illustrates the microstructures of the pass partial Z with P80 and Y(?) with a P82 directional
79 and pass 84, as marked in the schematic illustration microstructure. Therefore, the center region of the
(Fig. 3c). The pass 79 is the first pass of the layer, and pass microstructure is not a whole one-directional
84 is the last pass of the next layer, which is positioned microstructure.
above P79. Therefore, the directional solidification of the Figure 4 represents the microstructure of the 1 layer
microstructure in P79 is broken by the P84, which has a multi-passes with zig-zag layering sequence (D3) for the
multi-directional microstructure with P79 and P83. The deposition rate of 6 kg/h. The microstructure has refined
growth of columnar grains is refined and restricted to with the formation of a shorter length of grains, and there is
within the deposited pass. The zig-zag like deposits with no further growth of grain from one pass to another. The
multi-passes results in the multi-directional heat flow, as fusion boundary separates the grain direction between the
indicated in Fig. 3c. Therefore, grain growth also develops P67 and P72 with two different morphologies. The mor-
in multi-directions and minimizes the length of the phology between P68 and P71 has partially modified due to
columnar grain growth. The grain growth between the P80 the center position and the same direction of layering
and P83 is completely restricted and formed in the two deposits. The microstructure of the starting pass of each
different directions of grain morphology. These passes are layer (P67) consists of columnar grain growth due to the
deposited by center beads, the microstructure of these one-directional heat conduction or cooling. However, the
beads consisting of partial Z and Y directional last pass of each layer (P72), which has been deposited
microstructure. Therefore, the grain growth is restricted above the previous layer first pass, has two-directional heat

Fig. 1 Microstructure of 1
layer 1 pass deposits at a
deposition rate of 3 kg/h
a macrostructure
b microstructure of the grain
growth c heat conduction across
the passes

123
1478 Trans Indian Inst Met (2020) 73(6):1475–1479

Fig. 3 Microstructure in 1 layer

multi-passes deposit at a
deposition rate of 3 kg/h
a macrostructure
b microstructure of the grain
growth c heat conduction across
the passes and layers

conduction. Therefore, the one-directional and two-direc- (1) Wire arc additive manufacturing with a high deposi-
tional growth of the microstructure converge at the side- tion rate of 6 kg/h could be achieved by using Super-
wall. The amplified microstructure with the smaller grains TIG welding with a single torch, single cold filler.
is achieved due to the zig-zag like layering sequence. The (2) One layer 3 passes could improve the microstructures
grain refinement is due to the breakage of grain growth at of one layer one pass.
each fusion boundary. The microstructure of deposits at a (3) In zig-zag layering, the sidewall as the first bead in
heat input of 2.1 kJ/mm reveals the formation of grains the lower layer consisted of a one-directional
with columnar crystals and wide dendrite arm space. As the microstructure. But in the upper layer, the sidewall
heat input decreases to 1.1 and 0.7 kJ/mm, the as the last bead above the first bead was changed.
microstructure changes to fine grain crystal structure and is Therefore, the sidewall microstructure was not a
homogeneous throughout the deposits. As heat input whole one-directional microstructure.
increases, the solidification rate of the molten metal (4) Lower layer center bead consisted of partial Z and
decreases; hence, the growth of grains follows the direction Y(-) directional microstructure. But the upper layer
of a temperature gradient. center bead consisted of partial Z and Y(?) direc-
tional microstructure. Therefore, the center region of
the microstructure was not a whole one-directional
4 Conclusions microstructure.
(5) The one-directional microstructure could be pre-
Super-TIG welding was applied successfully for the wire vented by 1 layer multi-passes and zig-zag layering.
arc additive manufacturing using Inconel 625 at a deposi- By this method, microstructure direction got changed
tion rate of 6 kg/h. The layering strategy was discussed layer by layer at the same position, because the
concerning microstructural development in WAAM. welding sequence in each layer was in the opposite
direction layer by layer.

123
Trans Indian Inst Met (2020) 73(6):1475–1479 1479

Fig. 4 Microstructure in 1 layer

multi-passes deposit at a
deposition rate of 6 kg/h
a macrostructure
b microstructure of the grain
growth c heat conduction across
the passes and layers

Acknowledgements This work was supported by a research Grant of 7. Jun J H, Park J H, Cheepu M, and Cho S M, Sci Tech Weld Join
Pukyong National University (2019 year). 25 (2019) 106.
8. Park J H, Kim Y H, Baek H J, and Cho S M, J Manuf Process 40
(2019) 140.
9. Cho S M, Oh D S, Ham H S, Ha H J, Shin H S, Jun J H, Byun J G,
References Park J H, and Kwon H Y, Korea Patent application,
KR1020130098314A (2013).
1. Stewart W, Martina F, Addison A C, Ding J, Pardal G, and 10. Cho S M, Oh D S, Ham H S, Ha H J, Shin H S, Jun J H, Byun J G,
Colegrove P, Mater Sci Technol 32 (2016) 641. Park J H, and Kwon H Y, US Patent, US20160199947A1 (2016).
2. Martina F, Ding J, Stewart W, Caballero A, Pardal G, and 11. Leandro Y Y, Silva J D, and Scotti A, Int J Adv Manuf Technol
Quintino L, Addit Manuf 25 (2019) 545. 104 (2019) 1581.
3. Baufeld B, Biest O D V, and Gault R, Mater Des 31 (2010) S106. 12. Wu B, Pan Z, Duin S V, and Li H, Trans Intell Weld Manuf 3
4. Frazier W E, Mater J Eng Perform 23 (2014) 1917. (2019) 3.
5. Venukumar S, Cheepu M, Babu T V, and Venkateswarlu D,
Mater Sci Forum 969 (2019) 685.
Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to
6. Ahsan Md R U, Cheepu M, Ashiri R, Kim T H, Jeong C, and Park
jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Y D, Weld World 61 (2017) 1275.

123

View publication stats