From my understanding, powders utilized for the selective laser melting (SLM) process are manufactured through an atomization process. My question is, do the powders that develop from this process have a single crystalline or single grain structure? I.e. do the individual powder particles manifest as a single grain structure? Or is each powder particle composed of multiple grains? I realize that this is likely a function of the final particle size, so I'd prefer a response that indicates size ranges and the resulting grain structure. E.g. powders on the nanoscale size develop as blank while powders at the micron scale develop as blank.
Thanks,
-John
The structure of the atomized powder particles depend on the particle size and on the nucleation ability of the specific material. There will typically be a critical particle size below which the particle will have a single crystal structure. This critical particle size is different for each material and depend on its nucleation ability. The following article exemplifies this for an Fe-Si alloy:
Article The effect of the nucleation ability on solidified microstru...
Jesper V. Carstensen
Thanks very much for the quick response. I didn't consider investigating the nucleation ability of the particles but that makes total sense. Thanks for the direction (both keyword and article) for me to take my research.
Carter, L. N., Martin, C., Withers, P. J., & Attallah, M. M. (2014). The influence of the laser scan strategy on grain structure and cracking behaviour in SLM powder-bed fabricated nickel superalloy. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 615, 338-347.
Dr Azeez Barzinjy
Thanks for the response. I'll definitely look into this paper. These answers help a lot for building the case for my newest research paper. Thank you very much!
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