Additive Manufacturing 21 (2018) 133–140

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Additive Manufacturing
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/addma

Full Length Article

Additive manufacturing of Inconel 718—Copper alloy bimetallic structure T

using laser engineered net shaping (LENS™)
⁎
Bonny Onuike, Bryan Heer, Amit Bandyopadhyay
W. M. Keck Biomedical Materials Research Lab, School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2920, USA

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: To understand processing ability and measure resultant interfacial and thermal properties of Inconel 718 and
Additive manufacturing copper alloy GRCop-84, bimetallic structures were fabricated using laser engineering net shaping (LENS™), a
LENS™ commercially available additive manufacturing technique. It was hypothesized that additively combining the
Bimetallic structures two aerospace alloys would form a unique bimetallic structure with improved thermophysical properties com-
Inconel 718
pared to the Inconel 718 alloy. Two approaches were used: the direct deposition of GRCop-84 on Inconel 718
GRCop-84
and the compositional gradation of the two alloys. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive
spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Vickers microhardness and flash thermal diffusivity were used to
characterize these bimetallic structures to validate our hypothesis. The compositional gradation approach
showed a gradual transition of Inconel 718 and GRCop-84 elements at the interface, which was also reflected in
the cross-sectional hardness profile across the bimetallic interface. SEM images showed columnar grain struc-
tures at the interfaces with Cr2Nb precipitate accumulation along grain boundaries and the substrate-deposit
interface. The average thermal diffusivity of the bimetallic structure was measured at 11.33 mm2/s for the
temperature range of 50 °C–300 °C; a 250% increase in diffusivity when compared to the pure Inconel 718 alloy
at 3.20 mm2/s. Conductivity of the bimetallic structures increased by almost 300% compared to Inconel 718 as
well. Such structures with designed compositional gradation and tailored thermal properties opens up the
possibilities of multi-material metal additive manufacturing for next generation of aerospace structures.

1. Introduction
Multi-material structures with varying functionality can offer un-
ique solutions to engineering problems compared to single-material
structures. This approach has been previously tested to additively
create various multi-material structures, ranging from titanium [1,2],
CoCrMo [3], stainless-steel [4–6] and Inconel-based composites [7,8].
Additively manufactured multi-material structures have demonstrated
improvements in properties such as hardness [3,4], wear resistance
[9,10], and even reduction in elastic modulus [11] compared to single
metal/alloy parts. Such improvement through materials design was the
main focus of our investigation, where the advantages of two aerospace
alloys – copper-based alloy GRCop-84 (Cu-6.5 wt.%Cr-5.8 wt.% Nb)
and nickel-based alloy Inconel 718 (52 wt.%Ni – 19 wt.%Fe – 18 wt.
%Cr – 5 wt.%(Nb + Ta) – 3 wt.%Mo and trace of other elements) - were
combined to fabricate a bimetallic structure with enhanced thermo-
physical properties.
Precipitation-strengthened GRCop-84 was developed for main
combustion chamber (MCC) and nozzle liners in regeneratively cooled
rocket engines [12]. GRCop-84 has very high thermal conductivity, an
appealing balance of elevated temperature strength with low thermal
expansion and enhanced oxidation resistance [12,13]. It also offers
great promise for special application at high-heat-flux regions at tem-
peratures up to 700 °C [12]. Meanwhile, Inconel 718, a nickel-based
superalloy, is a high-temperature corrosion-resistant material with a
wide range of applications. It is widely accepted in aerospace industry
especially in gas turbine and rocket engines because of its excellent
tensile, fatigue and creep resistance, and high rupture strength along
with remarkable oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures up to
1000 °C [14]. However, it has a low thermal conductivity, which re-
duces the material’s efficiency as a conductive liner. Hence, by depos-
iting GRCop-84 on Inconel 718, the thermal conductivity of Inconel 718
will be improved while maintaining Inconel 718’s high strength at
elevated temperature. Therefore, the bimetallic structure has enhanced
thermo-physical and mechanical properties, benefiting from the dis-
tinctly different properties of the two alloys.
While the typical production method of GRCop-84 is through rapid
solidification and powder metallurgical techniques, three conventional

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: amitband@wsu.edu (A. Bandyopadhyay).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2018.02.007
Received 2 November 2017; Received in revised form 19 February 2018; Accepted 19 February 2018
Available online 23 February 2018
2214-8604/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
B. Onuike et al.
Fig. 1. Basic layout and flow part for LENS™ system [5].
consolidation methods – direct extrusion, hot isostatic pressing
(HIPing) and vacuum plasma spraying (VPSing) - have been reported.
HIPing and direct extrusion of powder were employed to produce dense
GRCop-84 bars and sheets [12], but these processes have not been
applied to fabrication of bimetallic structures, and they may be very
difficult if not impossible to processing multi-material structures in-
cluding coating applications. Meanwhile, VPSing has been successfully
demonstrated to fabricate rocket engine liners and functionally graded
material (FGM) through coating process [12,15]. However, VPS is a
relatively high cost and complex process. To produce standalone
structures, it requires the use of mandrels and its coating process is
associated with high residual stresses leading to microcracks and splat
boundaries [16]. On the contrary, rapid prototyping via directed energy
deposition such as laser engineered net shaping can produce free-form
solid structures via layer by layer deposition, and this can be applied to
multi-material structure fabrication as well as coating processes at
specific areas of unique functionality.
Bimetallic structures comprise largely of two materials that are
joined either as FGMs or directly bonded materials with a well-defined
interface. FGMs contain a graded composition across the interphase
with one material slowly transitioning into the other [17]. FGMs offer
numerous advantages over single metal parts due to the possibilities of
unique structural, thermal and mechanical properties of the final con-
figuration. LENS™ is a directed energy deposition (DED) additive
manufacturing system that can produce FGM structures on demand.
With this capability, FGMs and directly bonded structures can be pro-
duced having varying geometries and functionalities. In this study,
LENS™ was used to process bimetallic structure of Inconel 718 and
GRCop-84 to measure process-property relationships based on varying
interphase compositions. Influence of laser processing parameters on
interphase microstructure, hardness and thermal properties were stu-
died to evaluate feasibility of LENS™ processing as a viable manu-
facturing option for these bimetallic structures.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Laser engineered net shaping (LENS™)
The laser engineering net shaping (LENS™, Optomec Inc.,
Albuquerque, NM) technique can fabricate three-dimensional
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Additive Manufacturing 21 (2018) 133–140
components directly as designed from a computer aided design (CAD)
file. LENS™ is a system in which metal powder is injected directly into a
melt pool created by a focused, high-powered continuous wave Nd-YAG
laser beam on a substrate. LENS™ process chamber is purged with argon
to maintain oxygen and moisture levels to < 10 parts per million (ppm)
to prevent oxidation of molten metals. Fig. 1 shows our LENS™ system’s
inner chamber including all deposition components. Metal powders are
delivered from the powder feeders through nozzles in the deposition
head using argon as carrier gas. Multiple powder feeders can deliver
multiple materials during one build, allowing for manufacturing of bi-
metallic and multi-material structures. Further details of LENS™ proces-
sing can be found in Ref. [18]. Scan speeds, hatch spacing, layer thick-
ness, powder flow rate, and laser power are some of the main processing
parameters that influence build quality, and need careful optimization
for manufacturing quality parts. For the LENS™ processing of bimetallic
structure, Inconel 718 powder (Powder Alloy Corporation, Loveland,
OH, USA), GRCop-84 powder (ATI Powder Metals, Steubenville Pike, PA,
USA) and Inconel 718 plate as substrate were used. Both powders were in
the particle size range of 45–150 μm (mesh size −100/+325) suitable
for LENS™ processing. Two different approaches were selected: (1) direct
deposition of GRCop-84 on Inconel 718 and (2) compositional gradation
of GRCop-84 and Inconel 718. For the compositional gradation, pre-
mixed powders by weight percent of 50 wt.% Inconel 718 + 50 wt.%
GRCop-84 were prepared and deposited on Inconel 718 before 100%
GRCop-84 was deposited. Initial LENS™ processing parameters were
varied to manufacture 17.5 mm square samples of varying height. These
processing parameters from the initial to final build are shown in Table 1.
2.2. Characterization of Inconel 718–GRCop-84 bimetallic structures
The LENS™ processed samples were cut via waterjet, ground with
Table 1
LENS™ process parameters for fabricating GRCop-84 during initial and final attempts.
Laser power Laser scan Hatch distance Layer thickness
(J/s) speed (mm/s) (mm) (mm)
Initial attempt 410 8.33 0.53 0.20
Final attempt 450 6.67 0.53 0.10
B. Onuike et al.
Fig. 2. Images of the failure on initial attempts of deposition of GRCop-84 on Inconel 718: (a) As fabricated bulk sample, (b) showing weak bonding and poor diffusion of GRCop-84 on
Inconel 718, and (c) weak bonding and poor diffusion of GRCop-84 onto itself and Inconel 718.
silicon carbide (SiC) grinding paper, and then polished to 0.05 μm
alumina-DI water suspension. A Phase II Micro Vickers Hardness Tester
(Model 900-391) at a 0.98N load (HV0.1) and 15 s dwell time was used
to measure the microhardness of the cross-section through the inter-
phases. Polished samples were etched using a solution of 25 ml DI
water, 25 ml NH4OH and 2 ml 3% H2O2. Microstructural examination
was done using an optical microscope and a field emission SEM
(FESEM, FEI-SIRION, Portland, OR). EDS analysis was performed to
generate elemental dot maps to identify compositional variations along
the interphase. X-ray diffraction (XRD, PANalytical X’Pert Pro MPD,
Netherlands) analysis was conducted with cobalt (Co) radiation across
the interfacial region of the bimetallic structure to determine if a single-
phase solid-solution was formed between the two materials at the in-
terface. Scans were completed in the Inconel 718, GRCop-84, and in-
terface sections separately to ensure the single-phase solid-solution was
present throughout the samples.
Thermal diffusivity was measured using a Netzsch LFA 447
NanoFlash® thermal diffusivity system. Samples of Inconel 718 sub-
strate, LENS™ processed GRCop-84, and the bimetallic structure (100%
GRCop-84 deposited directly on Inconel 718) were tested.
Measurements were done between the temperature range of
50 °C–300 °C inclusive in 50 °C increments, with three measurements
taken at each temperature. While measurements on the single material
samples proved to be accurate and repeatable, the bimetallic structure
proved to be difficult to test as a double-layered system with distinct
densities. Nevertheless, to mitigate this challenge the combined density
and thickness of the bimetallic samples were used for the system’s
testing parameters. Theoretical calculations of thermal diffusivity of the
Fig. 3. As fabricated bimetallic structures of Inconel 718 and GRCop-84: (a) Uncut square sample geometry for NanoFlash® testing, (b) sample cross-section, and (c) an optical image of
the compositional interface.
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Additive Manufacturing 21 (2018) 133–140
bimetallic structures based on the single layer’s results were also cal-
culated to validate the experimental results.
3. Results
3.1. LENS™ processing of Inconel 718 to GRCop-84 bimetallic structures
The bonding mechanics of metal powder in LENS™ processing
happens due to localized melting of the powder particles and sub-
sequent solidification. Initial attempts to fabricate bimetallic structure
showed poor diffusion of GRCop-84 in Inconel 718, as shown in Fig. 2.
Metal lumps and balling phenomena produced poor surface quality and
can be seen in Fig. 2a, which made it difficult to build successive layers.
This caused insufficient bonding as the layers were only metallurgically
bonded in some regions of the cross-section, shown in Fig. 2b. After
modifying LENS™ process parameters to increase the total energy input,
the first layer of GRCop-84 bonded well to the substrate, yet successive
deposition on top of the first layer still proved to be difficult as shown in
Fig. 2c. To mitigate the inherent sharp interface associated to direct
deposition, the compositional grading technique was employed. An
improved build of the bimetallic structure of Inconel 718 and GRCop-84
with better surface morphology and structural integrity was accom-
plished using adjusted LENS™ process parameters that increased the
total energy input per unit volume even further. A reduction in porosity
could be observed compared to the first attempts, shown in Fig. 3. With
these modified process parameters, GRCop-84 bonded to itself more
evenly throughout the cross-section.
B. Onuike et al.
Fig. 4. SEM images of (a) LENS™ deposited GRCop-84 showing small dispersed precipitates, (b) GRCop-84-Inconel 718 interface, (c) precipitate accumulation on grain boundaries, and
(d) a backscatter image of precipitate accumulation at the GRCop-84-Inconel 718 interface.
3.2. Microstructural analysis
SEM imaging revealed that the bulk of the GRCop-84 deposit con-
tained a high density of Cr2Nb particles with an average precipitate size
of 0.46 ± 0.13 μm, shown in Fig. 4a. The same Cr2Nb particles at the
interface had an average diameter of 0.64 ± 0.23 μm, Fig. 4d. Particle
agglomeration was also present and clearly-defined dense regions of
Cr2Nb particles were found at the interphase region with a small
amount of what appeared to be chromium-rich precipitates. Further
comparison of the Cr2Nb precipitates in bulk show a more evenly dis-
tributed precipitate formation compared to the interface. An uneven
distribution of the particles was also observed amid the grain structures
with some precipitate accumulation along grain boundaries, Fig. 4c.
Columnar grain structures were also present at the substrate-deposit
interface showing grain growth opposite to the heat transfer direction.
Fig. 5a and b show Cu and Ni concentration across the interphase,
respectively. Ni and Cu were of main interest, as Cu is inherent to the
GRCop-84 alloy containing 88% Cu with 0% Ni, and Inconel 718 has a
maximum of 0.1% Cu and approximately 52% Ni. Line scans from the
substrate through the compositional layer into the GRCop-84 deposit
shown in Fig. 5c provided quantitative values of Cu and Ni detection
along the entire path. These values came into play when plotting the
intensities of Ni and Cu as a function of distance across the composi-
tional layers to represent bonding depth. A smooth Cu-Ni exchange was
observed when the scan transitioned from the substrate into the
coating. Small “jumps” in Cu detection at approximately 100 μm and
300 μm indicate the interfaces between Inconel 718 and the composi-
tional layer, and the compositional layer and 100% GRCop-84
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deposition, respectively. These “jumps” were over 20 μm distance, in-
dicating successive layer diffusion. Also across the compositional layer,
a steady rise in Cu detection as a function of distance was observed,
indicating that Cu preferentially rose to the top of the compositional
layer while the Inconel 718 was attracted toward the substrate during
deposition. Fig. 6 shows XRD analysis at the interfacial region with
peaks of intermediate layer, Inconel 718 and GRCop-84 at different
angles (2θ) of diffraction coinciding with each other, and no new peaks
were identified.
3.3. Hardness profile
Fig. 7 shows the hardness profile across the interface of the GRCop-
84 and Inconel 718 bimetallic structure. A smooth hardness transition
could be observed from the compositional layer as compared to the
direct deposition, which indicated a sharper gradient. In the direct
deposit structure, which transitioned from 100% GRCop-84 to 100%
Inconel 718 at 0.06 mm, the hardness values between 0.04 mm and
0.08 mm jumped from 1.38 ± 0.04 GPa to 2.93 ± 0.06 GPa, respec-
tively. In the 0.10-0.16 mm range, the hardness of the Inconel 718 was
at a maximum value of 2.93 ± 0.06 GPa and the supplied Inconel 718
substrate hardness value was 2.59 GPa. The compositional structure,
however, had a smooth transition of hardness variation across the in-
terface. The peak hardness value occurred again in the heat affected
zone (HAZ) with magnitude in hardness of 2.95 ± 0.12 GPa, similar to
the direct deposit structure.
B. Onuike et al. Additive Manufacturing 21 (2018) 133–140

Fig. 5. Elemental mapping using EDS across sample cross-section showing transitions of (a) Cu to (b) Ni through the interfaces. (c) Compositional gradation plot showing a gradual
change of Cu to Ni across the interface.

718 plates [19]. The LENS™ deposited GRCop-84 diffusivity values

ranged from 45.67 ± 0.32 to 44.18 ± 0.37 mm2/s at 50 °C to 300 °C,
respectively. This value was about half of the commercially rolled or
extruded GRCop-84, which has a thermal diffusivity value of
∼85 mm2/s at 300 °C [14].
Theoretical calculation of the bimetallic’s thermal diffusivity was
obtained from the combination of Eqs. (2), (3) and (4) into (1). The full
derivation as well as the analytical computation is presented in the
supporting materials. Thermal diffusivity (α ) is defined as the ratio of
thermal conductivity to thermal heat capacity:
Thermal conductivity k
α= =
Density *specific heat capacity ρc
Fig. 6. X-ray diffraction analysis across Inconel 718, GRCop-84, and interfaces.
kb
αb =
3.4. Thermal diffusivity of bimetallic structures ρb cb (1)

The results obtained from the thermal diffusivity measurements are where the subscript b denotes bimetallic
graphed as a function of temperature and shown in Fig. 8. The thermal kc *ki
kb =
diffusivity of Inconel 718 substrate ranged from 2.88 ± 0.01 to Δx c′*ki + Δx i′*kc (2)
3.54 ± 0.01 mm2/s from 50 to 300 °C, respectively. This agreed with
the value reported in the literature for commercially available Inconel ρb = Vc′ (ρc − ρi ) + ρi (3)

137
B. Onuike et al.
Fig. 7. Hardness profile across the interface of the bimetallic structure. “0” depth indicates the top of the cross section in the GRCop-84 region.
Fig. 8. Thermal diffusivity as a function of temperature for bimetallic structures of
Inconel 718 and GRCop-84, GRCop-84 deposit, and Inconel 718.
cb = ρc′ Vc′ cc c c′ + ρi′ Vi′ ci c i′
The bimetallic structure comprised of Inconel 718 substrate at
0.77 mm thick and GRCop-84 deposit at 1.22 mm thick. The theoretical
result for the diffusivity of the structure ranged from 14.37 to
17.09 mm2/s between 50 and 300 °C, respectively, which was between
the LENS™ deposited GRCop-84 and Inconel 718 values. Thermal con-
ductivity is directly related to thermal diffusivity, and theoretical con-
ductivity values were also calculated for the bimetallic system.
Compared to Inconel 718’s measured conductivity range of
10.22 ± 0.04–15.07 ± 0.03 W/m-K from 50 to 300 °C, respectively,
the theoretically calculated value for the bimetallic system was dou-
bled, and varied from 23.84 to 33.77 W/m-K over the same temperature
range. Treating the bimetallic as a uniform system, the diffusivity test
showed similar trend but slightly decreased values. The bimetal’s
thermal diffusivity ranged from 10.30 ± 0.07 to 12.33 ± 0.07 mm2/s
between 50 and 300 °C, respectively (Fig. 8). However, conductivity
values ranged from 42.55 ± 0.27 to 56.17 ± 0.34 W/m-K from 50 °C
to 300 °C, respectively, indicating a substantial increase as compared to
the Inconel 718 (graph not shown).
4. Discussions
Deposition of GRCop-84 onto Inconel 718 using LENS™ process in-
itially proved to be difficult due to special attributes of GRCop-84,
material-property mismatch between the two alloys and low input en-
ergy during LENS™ processing that led to beginning failures. GRCop-84
containing 87.7 wt.% Cu has properties similar to copper such as low
Additive Manufacturing 21 (2018) 133–140
absorptivity of infrared laser radiation, low viscosity of the alloy melt,
and high thermal conductivity. In fact, the absorptivity of copper is
2–3% of the infrared Nd-YAG laser (wavelength, 1.06 μm) [20,21] used
in LENS™ operation. This implies that more than 95% of the energy of
the laser beam is reflected, limiting the amount of heat contributing to
melting of the material [1]. The combined effect of these challenges
mentioned above translated to the initial unsuccessful build shown in
Fig. 2a and showed poor morphology resulting from melt pool swells as
well as balling phenomena. The formation of metal lumps could also be
attributed to less energy input. Poor diffusion or bonding between
GRCop-84 and Inconel 718, and between GRCop-84 layers themselves,
are shown in the microstructural images Fig. 2b and c, respectively. To
clearly understand the effect of the special attributes of GRCop-84 on
the initial attempt to deposit on Inconel 718, low laser power was used.
Yet, due to low laser absorption of GRCop-84, higher laser power is
required to compensate for the reflected heat. Secondly, the low visc-
osity of GRCop-84 melt signifies that any melt movement of the alloy is
(4) spread across the melting path/surface and a very thin layer is de-
posited. Hence, this requires some coordination of the powder feed rate
and z-axis movement to improve viscosity of the melt, and in turn the
thickness of the deposit. Again, with the high thermal conductivity of
GRCop-84, the heat generated from the laser power is quickly dis-
sipated into the adjacent layer, which lowers the amount of localized
heat present to bond the layers. Higher input energy density was re-
quired to improve bonding between the layers for this particular bi-
metallic.
Mismatch in thermal conductivities between dissimilar materials is
also an important parameter. Various factors besides thermal con-
ductivity influence physical and chemical characteristics of multi-ma-
terial systems processed via LENS™. These factors include material
differences in melting point, heat capacity, and coefficient of linear
thermal expansion [8]. To achieve a good build in depositing GRCop-84
on Inconel 718, selective combination of LENS™ processing parameters
at the beginning of the build is required to achieve optimal results.
Laser power (P), scan speed (v), layer thickness (h), and hatch distance
(t) make the largest difference when building with LENS™ because
those parameters largely affect energy density during the build ac-
cording to the equation, (5) put forth by España [22] and Simchi [23]:
P
E=
v *h*t (5)
The total energy input per unit volume (E) is expressed as a function
of LENS™ processing parameters, and has unit of J/mm3. For the initial
LENS™ attempt, the total energy input per volume was 464.34 J/mm3.
While for the final LENS™ attempt, as shown in Table 1, the total energy
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B. Onuike et al.
per unit volume was 1273 J/mm3. This shows an approximate 270%
increase in energy per unit volume from the initial attempt. This in-
crease in energy density was obtained by varying processing parameters
to deposit the GRCop-84 material onto Inconel 718, and final builds
were shown in Fig. 3. Also, the improved diffusion of GRCop-84 on
Inconel 718 due to the optimized parameters was demonstrated in
Fig. 4 revealing the microstructure at the interface. XRD analysis
showed the alignment of the intermediate layer peak with the peaks of
Inconel 718 and GRCop-84 at different angles (2θ) of diffraction, as
shown in Fig. 6, which indicated formation of single-phase solid-solu-
tion at the interface. This was expected since nickel and copper forms
single-phase solid-solution in their binary equilibrium phase diagram.
Hence, formation of single phase at the interface suggested strong
bonding characteristic and high interfacial strength, since no two-phase
solid-solution formed that will lead to brittle intermetallic at the in-
terface. It is also worthy to note that when the XRD peaks were overlaid
with one another, peaks detected in Inconel 718 and GRCop-84 regions
coincided with the peak behavior of the interface scan and can be
viewed in the inset of Fig. 6. This behavior indicated the interface held
the characteristics of both Inconel 718 and GRCop-84 single-phase
solid-solutions.
As shown in Fig. 7, hardness trends shift at the interfaces and then
smooth out as a function of distance away from the interface. Slight
increases in hardness were observed near the interfaces of both com-
positionally graded and direct deposition specimens. However, the in-
crease was more obvious in the direct deposition samples. These in-
creases in hardness at interfacial regions were due to rapid
solidification processes (102–104 K/s [24,25]) by the localized laser
remelting. A similar trend had been observed earlier in carbide-particle
reinforced titanium-aluminum matrix composites [26]. Columnar and
refined grain structures were also visible along the interface and have
previously been reported in additively manufactured Inconel 718 and
copper alloys [27,28]. This is due to the directional solidification that
occurs from the high heat gradient imposed by the Nd:YAG laser. As the
melt pool solidifies in the build path, grains preferentially grow towards
the heat source due to temperature gradients along the build direction
[29]. Columnar grains appeared to be elongated perpendicularly to the
interface aligned with the laser heating direction, which has been lar-
gely reported in LENS™ and other laser beam melting processes [30].
Manipulating grain growth direction via lasers has been previously
explored in Inconel 718, where build direction largely influenced ma-
terial texture [31].
Higher hardness values near the interface could also be attributed to
particle accumulation, as shown in Fig. 4b and d. Such accumulation is
not uncommon since conventional manufacturing of this alloy has re-
sulted in large volume fractions of the precipitate [12]. Most literatures
have reported just precipitate formation with no visible grain structure,
making it challenging to compare the location of the precipitates. Yet,
finely dispersed Cr2Nb have been previously reported in the copper
matrix, similar to our observations [32]. Also, presence of what ap-
peared to be chromium-rich precipitates in the form of black regions in
backscatter imaging were similarly found in other laser melt deposition
techniques of the alloy [31]. It has been reported that due to the sta-
bility of Cr2Nb phase, precipitation will occur immediately after tem-
peratures drop below the melting temperature. Depending on the
cooling rate, the size of the precipitates can be controlled. The faster the
solidification rate, the smaller the precipitates formation size as slow
cooling of this alloy has shown particle growth from the scale of mil-
limeter to centimeter in size [12]. Thus, the fine Cr2Nb phase accom-
plished by rapid solidification rates would strengthen the material
compared to conventional processes [33].
Thermal diffusivity and conductivity measurements for Inconel 718
were in line with reported results [34] while LENS™ processed GRCop-
84 measured at approximately half of the thermal diffusivity of com-
mercially rolled plates. This change in values can be explained again
due to much finer and more complex grain structure than regularly
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Additive Manufacturing 21 (2018) 133–140
attained through conventional techniques. Grain boundaries can act as
obstacles for heat travel through a material, and with a smaller grain
size (i.e., more grain boundaries in the same area) heat will take longer
to flow through the material. From LENS™’s rapid solidification causing
grain size reduction phenomenon, it is no surprise that thermal diffu-
sivity/conductivity values decreased for LENS™ processed GRCop-84
compared to conventionally processed samples. Moreover, Cr2Nb par-
ticle accumulation observed along the grain boundaries could also
contribute to this decreased value as accumulation along the grain
boundaries would also act as an obstacle for heat flow.
Interestingly, there is a positive trend in thermal diffusivity for the
bimetallic structure over the range of 50–300 °C for both experimental
and theoretical results. This followed closely to Inconel 718’s trend over
the same temperature range, which was opposite to the decreasing
nature for GRCop-84 deposit as shown in Fig. 8. This means the bi-
metal’s thermal behavior as a function of temperature was still domi-
nated by the substrate material, yet was functioning at a higher rate.
With ∼250% and ∼300% increase in thermal diffusivity and con-
ductivity when compared to the original Inconel 718 alloy, respec-
tively, the thermophysical properties were enhanced significantly for
these coherent bimetallic structures. Nevertheless, for a given bime-
tallic sample, the variation in thickness of GRCop-84 deposited on In-
conel 718 will affect the combined density of the bimetallic sample.
Hence it could be stated that the higher the thickness of GRCop-84
deposited over a constant thickness of Inconel 718, the effective
thermal diffusivity/conductivity of the bimetallic sample will increase.
By effectively increasing thermal diffusivity and conductivity values of
Inconel 718 with the addition of GRCop-84, theoretical and experi-
mental results supported our hypothesis that a bimetallic structure with
improved thermophysical properties can be created using laser-based
additive manufacturing techniques such as LENS™.
5. Conclusions
Bimetallic structures of Inconel 718 and GRCop-84 have been suc-
cessfully processed using laser engineered net shaping. Factors such as
the differences in thermophysical properties like laser absorptivity,
melting temperature, heat capacity, coefficient of linear thermal ex-
pansion, and thermal conductivity greatly affected bonding character-
istics. Understanding the process-property relationship for GRCop-84
helped develop a strategy within the process window for the successful
fabrication of the bimetallic structure. Two approaches were selected
for the fabrication of bimetallic structures: the direct deposition of
GRCop-84 on Inconel 718 and the compositional gradation of the two
alloys. The compositional gradation technique showed diffused inter-
faces with gradually transitioning copper-nickel material across the
bimetallic interphase when compared to the direct deposition ap-
proach. SEM images showed columnar grain structures at the interfaces
as well as Cr2Nb precipitate accumulation along the grain boundaries
and the substrate-deposit interface. Thermal diffusivity of the bimetallic
structures was measured at 11.33 mm2/s, which is an ∼250% increase
compared to pure Inconel 718 alloy at 3.20 mm2/s. Also, conductivity
of the bimetallic structures increased by ∼300% compared to Inconel
718. It is envisioned that such structures with designed compositional
gradation and tailored thermal properties will open up the possibilities
of multi-material metal additive manufacturing for next generation
aerospace structures.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgements
Financial support from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)-Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is
B. Onuike et al.
acknowledged under the research agreement number # SC-2019.A031.
Financial support for Bonny Onuike from the National Science
Foundation under the grant #CMMI 1538851 (PI- Bandyopadhyay) is
also acknowledged.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in the
online version, at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2018.02.007.
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