The Dispersion-Strengthening Effect of TiN Nanoparticles Evoked by Ex Situ Nitridation of Gas-Atomized, NiCu-Based Alloy 400 in Fluidized Bed Reactor for Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Throughout recent years, the implementation of nanoparticles into the microstructure of additively manufactured (AM) parts has gained great attention in the material science community. The dispersion strengthening (DS) effect achieved leads to a substantial improvement in the mechanical properties of the alloy used. In this work, an ex situ approach of powder conditioning prior to the AM process as per a newly developed fluidized bed reactor (FBR) was applied to a titanium-enriched variant of the NiCu-based Alloy 400. Powders were investigated before and after FBR exposure, and it was found that the conditioning led to a significant increase in the TiN formation along grain boundaries. Manufactured to parts via laser-based powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M), the ex situ FBR approach not only revealed a superior microstructure compared to unconditioned parts but also with respect to a recently introduced in situ approach based on a gas atomization reaction synthesis (GARS). A substantially higher number of nanoparticles formed along cell walls and enabled an effective suppression of dislocation movement, resulting in excellent tensile, creep, and fatigue properties, even at elevated temperatures up to 750 °C. Such outstanding properties have never been documented for AM-processed Alloy 400, which is why the demonstrated FBR ex situ conditioning marks a promising modification route for future alloy systems.