Wire arc additive manufacturing of thin and thick walls made of duplex stainless steel

Abstract

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) direct energy deposition is used to process two different duplex stainless steels (DSS) wire chemistries. Macro- and micromechanical response variables relevant to industrialization are studied using a design of the experiment (DoE) approach. The tested operation window shows that the variation of layer height and over-thickness are highly correlated with travel speed and wire feed speed and positively correlated with heat input. The maximum achieved average instantaneous deposition rate is 3.54 kg/h. The use of wire G2205, which contains 5 wt% nickel content, results in a ferrite-to-austenite ratio that is equally balanced, while wire G2209, with 9 wt% nickel, provides a lower ferrite content. The spatial distribution of Fe% is influenced by part geometry and path planning, and higher heat inputs result in coarser microstructures. The manufacturing weaving strategy generates a heterogeneous microstructure characterized by fluctuations in Fe%. Thus, understanding the effect of complex thermal history, higher-dimensional design spaces, and uncertainty quantification is required to drive metal WAAM toward full industrialization.