A fused deposition modeling(FDM)system via screw extrusion suitable for feeding granular feedstocks with high solid loading was developed. Key parameters included aspect ratio of the screw, the compression ratio and pitch etc. In order to get constant extruded mass flow and wire diameter a processing window was determined by optimizing the barrel temperature, the nozzle diameter and the screwing speed. Microstructural characterization coupled with flexural strength measurement revealed that a higher printing temperature was beneficial to the inter layer bonding. The sintered zirconia ceramic samples with 99% of theoretical density of the 3 mol% yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (3Y-TZP) and flexural strength of 890 +/- 60 MPa was obtained. A set of zirconia ceramic parts with complex geometries and controllable dimensional accuracy was also successfully prepared for demonstrating the potential of the technique.

Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) has attracted great interest in the aerospace and medical sectors because it can produce complex and lightweight parts with high accuracy. Austenitic stainless steel alloy 316 L is widely used in many applications due to its good mechanical properties and high corrosion resistance over a wide temperature range. In this study, L-PBF-processed 316 L was investigated for its suitability in aerospace applications at cryogenic service temperatures and the behavior at cryogenic temperature was compared with room temperature to understand the properties and microstructural changes within this temperature range. Tensile tests were performed at room temperature and at −196 °C to study the mechanical performance and phase changes. The microstructure and fracture surfaces were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, and the phases were analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The results showed a significant increase in the strength of 316 L at −196 °C, while its ductility remained at an acceptable level. The results indicated the formation of ε and α martensite during cryogenic testing, which explained the increase in strength. Nanoindentation revealed different hardness values, indicating the different mechanical properties of austenite (γ), strained austenite, body-centered cubic martensite (α), and hexagonal close-packed martensite (ε) formed during the tensile tests due to mechanical deformation.

The microstructure and fatigue and tensile properties of 316L stainless steel fabricated via laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) were investigated. Two 316L stainless steel specimens with different loading directions which are either perpendicular to or parallel to building direction were prepared by L-PBF process. The results of X-ray diffraction tomography showed that there was no significant difference in morphology and size/distribution of the defects in the HB and VB samples. Since long axis of columnar grains is generally parallel to the build direction, the fatigue crack encounters more grain boundaries in VB samples under cyclic loading, which led to enhanced fatigue resistance of VB samples compared with HB sample. In contrast to HB sample, the VB sample has a higher fatigue strength due to a higher resistance to localized plastic deformation under cyclic loading. The differences in fatigue properties of L-PBF 316L SS with different build directions were predominantly controlled by solidification microstructures.

Dense oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) 316 L steels with different amount of Y2O3 additions were successfully fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) even though part of the added Y2O3 got lost during the process. The microstructure was characterized in details and the mechanical properties were tested at room temperature, 250 degrees C and 400 degrees C, respectively. The effect of the scanning speed on agglomeration of nanoparticles during SLM process was discussed. Superior properties, e.g., yield strength of 574 MPa and elongation of 91%, were achieved at room temperature in SLM ODS 316 L with additional 1% of Y2O3. At elevated temperatures, the strength kept high but the elongations dropped dramatically. It was observed that nano-voids nucleated throughout the whole gauge section at the sites where nanoinclusions located. The growth and coalescence of these voids were suppressed by the formation of an element segregation network before necking, which relieved local stress concentration and thus delayed necking. This unusual necking behavior was studied and compared to the previous theory. It appeared that the strong convection presented in the melt pool can evenly redistribute the short-time milled coarse Y2O3 precursor powder during SLM process. These findings can not only solve the problems encountered during the fabrication of ODS components but also replenish the strengthening mechanism of SLM 316 L thus pave a way for further improving of mechanical properties.

Crack-free zirconia ceramics were consolidated via sintering by intense thermal radiation (SITR) approach at 1600-1700 degrees C for 3-5 min. The resulted ceramic bulks can achieve a relative density up to 99.6% with a grain size of 300-1200 nm. Their bending strength, Vickers hardness and indentation toughness values are up to 1244 +/- 139 MPa, 13.3 +/- 0.3 GPa and 5.5 +/- 0.1 MPa m(1/2), respectively. Quantitative Raman and XRD analysis show the presence of minor m phase on the natural surface (<7%), fracture surface (<10%) and indentation areas (<15%). It reveals that the SITR method is efficient for rapidly manufacturing zirconia ceramics with desired density, fine grained microstructure and good mechanical properties that are strongly demanded in dental applications.

Mesoporous mesocrystals are highly desired in catalysis, energy storage, medical and many other applications, but most of synthesis strategies involve the usage of costly chemicals and complicated synthesis routes, which impede the commercialization of such materials. During the sintering of dense ceramics, coarsening is an undesirable phenomenon which causes the growth of the grains as well as the pores hence hinders the densification, however, coarsening is desired in the sintering of porous ceramics to expand the pore sizes while retaining the total pore volume. Here we report a chemi-thermal process, during which nanocrystallite aggregates were synthesized by hydrothermal process and then converted to the product by sintering. Through this strategy, we synthesized mesoporous self-supported mesocrystals of yttria-stabilized zirconia with tunable pore size and the process was then scaled-up to industrial production. The thermal conductivity measurement shows that the mesoporous powder is a good thermal isolator. The monolith pellets can be obtained by SPS sintering under high pressure and the mesoporosity is retained in the monolith pellets. This work features facile and scalable process as well as low cost raw chemicals making it highly desirable in industrial applications.

Reducing the grain size in zirconia ceramics has shown to decrease its toughness by size-dependent stabilisation of the tetragonal phase that, in turn, hinders the stress-induced phase transformation from tetragonal to monoclinic. The stability of the tetragonal phase increases with the decrease of grain size but decreases with the reduction of the amount of yttria added, implying the need for adjustment of the yttria content when a nano-grained structure is of concern. In this study, low-yttria compositions were investigated. The ceramics were prepared with two sintering methods namely spark plasma sintering (SPS) and pressureless sintering. A clear tendency was noted for the indentation toughness increase with the reduction of yttria content, and a higher toughness achieved in as-SPSed samples in comparison with the annealed samples. The origins of the increased toughness were discussed in terms of yttria content, carbon contamination and increased oxygen vacancies after sintering at reducing atmosphere in SPS.

A powder bed fusion laser technique (PBF-LS) was used to fabricate 316L stainless steel specimens for characterization of microstructures and micromechanical properties under uniaxial loading in-situ in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Correlations between the microstructure, deformation mechanisms and mechanical properties were investigated. The results show that the morphology of the microstructure is very different when the sample building orientation was altered. In tensile test specimens that were machined from horizontally oriented rectangular beams, smaller grains and a more deformed microstructure were observed. Under uniaxial loading the yield strength and initial work hardening rate was highest in the horizontally built specimens. The uniform and total elongation was better for tensile test samples that were machined from vertically built rectangular specimens. Slip and twinning were the dominant deformation mechanisms with correlation to the observed texture. The observed anisotropic mechanical behavior can be explained by the differences in the distribution of deformed and sub-structured microstructures along the strain path.

Most mechanisms used for strengthening crystalline materials, e.g. introducing crystalline interfaces, lead to the reduction of ductility. An additive manufacturing process - selective laser melting breaks this trade-off by introducing dislocation network, which produces a stainless steel with both significantly enhanced strength and ductility. Systematic electron microscopy characterization reveals that the pre-existing dislocation network, which maintains its configuration during the entire plastic deformation, is an ideal modulator that is able to slow down but not entirely block the dislocation motion. It also promotes the formation of a high density of nano-twins during plastic deformation. This finding paves the way for developing high performance metals by tailoring the microstructure through additive manufacturing processes.