Weldability study of alloys 625 and 718 fabricated by laser-based additive manufacturing

Nickel-based alloys, Alloys 625 and 718, are widely used in the aerospace industry due to their excellent corrosion resistance and high strength at elevated temperatures. Recently, these alloys have been utilized to manufacture rocket engine components using additive manufacturing (AM) technologies such as laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) and powder-blown laser-based directed energy deposition (DED). These technologies offer faster and more cost-effective production while enabling the fabrication of near-net-shape parts that are subsequently joined by welding. However, solidification cracking susceptibility varies significantly between AM and conventionally processed materials, and limited weldability characterization has been conducted on AM-fabricated materials. This study assesses the weld solidification cracking susceptibility of Alloys 625 and 718 produced by wrought (mill-rolled), LPBF, and DED using transverse varestraint testing, Scheil-Gulliver simulations, the Crack Susceptibility Index (CSI), and the Flow Resistance Index (FRI). Transverse varestraint testing revealed that AM parts exhibited higher susceptibility due to the presence of larger and elongated grains in the fusion zone, affecting the weld solidification cracking response. In Alloy 625, the LPBF condition exhibited the highest maximum crack distance (MCD) of 2.35 ± 0.16 mm, compared to 1.56 ± 0.06 mm for wrought and 1.72 ± 0.10 mm for DED. Similarly, in Alloy 718, the DED condition showed the highest MCD of 2.93 ± 0.41 mm, while the wrought condition had an MCD of 2.01 ± 0.12 mm, and the LPBF condition reached 3.01 ± 0.33 mm at 5 % strain, without a clearly defined saturation strain. Although wrought materials demonstrated greater resistance to solidification cracking, solidification simulations did not correlate with the experimental testing, as they do not account for microstructural and mechanical factors, relying solely on chemistry.