High Mechanical Properties of Nickel-Based Superalloy with Dispersed Nanoparticles Formed by Laser Metal Deposition

While laser-printed metals do not tend to match the mechanical properties and thermal stability of conventionally-processed metals, incorporating and dispersing nanoparticles in them should enhance their performance. However, this remains difficult to do during laser additive manufacturing. Here, we show that Nickel-based superalloy reinforced by nanoparticles can be deposited via laser melting of nanocomposite powders. Laser deposited nanocomposite materials have high hardness, high Young’s modulus and excellent ultimate tensile strength performance in almost all laser printed Nickel-base superalloy. The improved performance is attributed to a high density of well-dispersed nanoparticles, strong interfacial bonding between nanoparticles and matrix, ultrafine grain sizes and dislocation regulation enhancement mechanism.