Insights into crack prevention and property improvement for additively manufactured ultra-high-strength steel structures with complex geometries

Hybrid wire-arc directed energy deposition (WDED), in which complex features are deposited onto a forged base, offers a cost-effective solution for manufacturing geometrically complex ultra-high-strength steel components, particularly for aerospace applications. However, cracking at the base forging...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jun Wang, Mark Taylor, Chenglei Diao, Ed Pickering, Jian Qin, Yao Lu, Sonia Martins Meco, Jialuo Ding, Stewart Williams
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Additive Manufacturing Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772369025000404
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849232640310247424
author Jun Wang
Mark Taylor
Chenglei Diao
Ed Pickering
Jian Qin
Yao Lu
Sonia Martins Meco
Jialuo Ding
Stewart Williams
author_facet Jun Wang
Mark Taylor
Chenglei Diao
Ed Pickering
Jian Qin
Yao Lu
Sonia Martins Meco
Jialuo Ding
Stewart Williams
author_sort Jun Wang
collection DOAJ
description Hybrid wire-arc directed energy deposition (WDED), in which complex features are deposited onto a forged base, offers a cost-effective solution for manufacturing geometrically complex ultra-high-strength steel components, particularly for aerospace applications. However, cracking at the base forging/build interface during post-build heat treatment limits its widespread application. This study investigates the underlying causes of interfacial cracking, highlighting microstructural inhomogeneity, elemental segregation and transformation stresses as likely key contributing factors. A modified three-step post-build heat treatment incorporating a normalisation step was developed to mitigate some of these issues. The optimised process successfully suppressed cracking by refining prior-austenite grains before the application of a conventional quenching step. This enhanced tensile performance beyond AMS6419K standards, supporting the industrial implementation of hybrid WDED in aerospace structures.
format Article
id doaj-art-a0d3dcfdae73477e8f25728b7457c1b0
institution Kabale University
issn 2772-3690
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Additive Manufacturing Letters
spelling doaj-art-a0d3dcfdae73477e8f25728b7457c1b02025-08-21T04:17:56ZengElsevierAdditive Manufacturing Letters2772-36902025-07-011410030710.1016/j.addlet.2025.100307Insights into crack prevention and property improvement for additively manufactured ultra-high-strength steel structures with complex geometriesJun Wang0Mark Taylor1Chenglei Diao2Ed Pickering3Jian Qin4Yao Lu5Sonia Martins Meco6Jialuo Ding7Stewart Williams8Welding and Additive Manufacturing Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK; Corresponding author.Department of Materials / Henry Royce Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UKWelding and Additive Manufacturing Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UKDepartment of Materials / Henry Royce Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UKWelding and Additive Manufacturing Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UKWelding and Additive Manufacturing Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UKWelding and Additive Manufacturing Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UKWelding and Additive Manufacturing Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UKWelding and Additive Manufacturing Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UKHybrid wire-arc directed energy deposition (WDED), in which complex features are deposited onto a forged base, offers a cost-effective solution for manufacturing geometrically complex ultra-high-strength steel components, particularly for aerospace applications. However, cracking at the base forging/build interface during post-build heat treatment limits its widespread application. This study investigates the underlying causes of interfacial cracking, highlighting microstructural inhomogeneity, elemental segregation and transformation stresses as likely key contributing factors. A modified three-step post-build heat treatment incorporating a normalisation step was developed to mitigate some of these issues. The optimised process successfully suppressed cracking by refining prior-austenite grains before the application of a conventional quenching step. This enhanced tensile performance beyond AMS6419K standards, supporting the industrial implementation of hybrid WDED in aerospace structures.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772369025000404300 m ultra-high-strength steelWire-based direct energy depositionPost heat treatmentCracking preventionmaterial performance
spellingShingle Jun Wang
Mark Taylor
Chenglei Diao
Ed Pickering
Jian Qin
Yao Lu
Sonia Martins Meco
Jialuo Ding
Stewart Williams
Insights into crack prevention and property improvement for additively manufactured ultra-high-strength steel structures with complex geometries
Additive Manufacturing Letters
300 m ultra-high-strength steel
Wire-based direct energy deposition
Post heat treatment
Cracking prevention
material performance
title Insights into crack prevention and property improvement for additively manufactured ultra-high-strength steel structures with complex geometries
title_full Insights into crack prevention and property improvement for additively manufactured ultra-high-strength steel structures with complex geometries
title_fullStr Insights into crack prevention and property improvement for additively manufactured ultra-high-strength steel structures with complex geometries
title_full_unstemmed Insights into crack prevention and property improvement for additively manufactured ultra-high-strength steel structures with complex geometries
title_short Insights into crack prevention and property improvement for additively manufactured ultra-high-strength steel structures with complex geometries
title_sort insights into crack prevention and property improvement for additively manufactured ultra high strength steel structures with complex geometries
topic 300 m ultra-high-strength steel
Wire-based direct energy deposition
Post heat treatment
Cracking prevention
material performance
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772369025000404
work_keys_str_mv AT junwang insightsintocrackpreventionandpropertyimprovementforadditivelymanufacturedultrahighstrengthsteelstructureswithcomplexgeometries
AT marktaylor insightsintocrackpreventionandpropertyimprovementforadditivelymanufacturedultrahighstrengthsteelstructureswithcomplexgeometries
AT chengleidiao insightsintocrackpreventionandpropertyimprovementforadditivelymanufacturedultrahighstrengthsteelstructureswithcomplexgeometries
AT edpickering insightsintocrackpreventionandpropertyimprovementforadditivelymanufacturedultrahighstrengthsteelstructureswithcomplexgeometries
AT jianqin insightsintocrackpreventionandpropertyimprovementforadditivelymanufacturedultrahighstrengthsteelstructureswithcomplexgeometries
AT yaolu insightsintocrackpreventionandpropertyimprovementforadditivelymanufacturedultrahighstrengthsteelstructureswithcomplexgeometries
AT soniamartinsmeco insightsintocrackpreventionandpropertyimprovementforadditivelymanufacturedultrahighstrengthsteelstructureswithcomplexgeometries
AT jialuoding insightsintocrackpreventionandpropertyimprovementforadditivelymanufacturedultrahighstrengthsteelstructureswithcomplexgeometries
AT stewartwilliams insightsintocrackpreventionandpropertyimprovementforadditivelymanufacturedultrahighstrengthsteelstructureswithcomplexgeometries