Investigation of the Properties of Reinforced IN718 Structures Fabricated using Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Inconel 718 (IN718) superalloy, known for its high strength and corrosion resistant behavior, is widely used in the aerospace and automotive industries. Laser power bed fusion (LPBF), one of the commonly used techniques of additive manufacturing, enables the fabrication of structures with a variety of local properties. Using the same material, components with spatially varying properties can be fabricated through applying different processing parameters. In this study, IN718 composite structures were fabricated using four types of rod reinforcements with different geometry. A different set of process parameters was used to fabricated reinforcing rods compared to that of the main part. The bonding quality at the interface between the main part and reinforcements was determined by defect analysis on the microstructure results. Also, Vickers hardness test was performed at the interface in order to examine the mechanical properties of the samples. It was found out that a similar level of densification and hardness value, slightly less than the plain sample, can be achieved using helical and arc reinforcing rods. By contrast, significantly lower density and hardness were observed for the sample reinforced by square rods compared to the plain sample.