Chemical method of doping Inconel 713C powder with rhenium for 3D printed manufacturing. Influence of rhenium dopants on the microstructure changes

Abstract

A well-known method of doping powders in the industry is mechanical alloying synthesis. This method synthesizes metal powders by grinding them in high-energy mills, which prevents the achievement of well-dispersed particles throughout the volume and control of particle morphology, size, and agglomeration.

In the present work, rhenium doping of IN 713C was carried out in a polyester network system based on organic acids and diols with specially selected catalysts and experimental parameters leading to the complexation of Rhenium ions. In addition, neutral reagents were used in this research, contributing to the greening of many key industries. The obtained IN 713C powder with rhenium showed high dispersion without agglomeration effect and reasonable flowability. Depending on the polymerization process parameters, the morphology of the rhenium particles on the surface of IN 713C can be modified. The IN 713C powder, with and without rhenium, was used in the SLM process to fabricate IN 713C alloy samples. The study examines the effect of rhenium doped IN 713C on the microstructure and hardness changes of the alloy produced by the 3D-printing methods. This type of chemical modification methods can effectively enhance the hardness and affects the elongation of dendrites in the structure of IN 713C alloys manufactured by the additive methods.