Use of fumed silica nanostructured additives in selective laser melting and fabrication of steel matrix nanocomposites

The advancement of additive manufacturing (AM) for metal matrix nanocomposites (MMNCs) is gaining enormous attention due to their potential improvement of physical and mechanical performance. When using nanostructured additives as reinforcements in 3D printed metal composites and with the aid of sel...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Koh, Hwee Kang, Moo, James Guo Sheng, Sing, Swee Leong, Yeong, Wai Yee
Other Authors: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/160391
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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Summary:The advancement of additive manufacturing (AM) for metal matrix nanocomposites (MMNCs) is gaining enormous attention due to their potential improvement of physical and mechanical performance. When using nanostructured additives as reinforcements in 3D printed metal composites and with the aid of selective laser melting (SLM), the mechanical properties of the composites can be tailored. The nanostructured additive AEROSIL® fumed silica is both cost-effective and beneficial in the production of MMNCs using SLM. In this study, both hydrophobic and hydrophilic fumed silicas were shown to successfully achieve homogenous blends with commercial 316L stainless steel powder. The powder blends, which exhibited better flow, were then used to fabricate samples using SLM. The samples' microstructure demonstrated that smaller grains were present in the composites, resulting in improvements in mechanical properties by grain refinement compared to those of 316L stainless steel samples.