Grain morphologies in additively manufactured alloys: From solidification fundamentals to advanced microstructure control

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2025.02.033

Abstract

Abstract: In comparison to the alloys manufactured using the conventional means, microstructures of the alloys additively manufactured (AM) using techniques such as laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), directed energy deposition (DED) and e-beam powder bed fusion (EPBF) are considerably more complex, making them unamenable for an easy interpretation even for a well-trained metallurgist. Keeping this in view, an overview of different grain morphologies that are observed in AM alloys is presented, with the objective of a systematic elucidation of the melt pool geometry and thermal history's role on the microstructural evolution. The second part of this review focuses on strategies that are available for manipulating the grain structures for tailoring the microstructures of AM alloys.

Key words: Additive manufacturing, Grains morphologies, Microstructure, Melt pool, Alloy designing

Siyuan Wei, Pei Wang, Long Zhang, Upadrasta Ramamurty. Grain morphologies in additively manufactured alloys: From solidification fundamentals to advanced microstructure control[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2025, 235: 133-145.

References

[1] D. Kong, C. Dong, S. Wei, X. Ni, L. Zhang, R. Li, L. Wang, C. Man, X. Li, Addit. Manuf. 38(2021) 101804.
[2] S. Wei, C. Hutchinson, U. Ramamurty, Scr. Mater. 230(2023) 115429.
[3] S. Kou, Welding Metallurgy, 2nd Ed., John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, (2003) 431-446.
[4] S. David, J. Vitek, Int. Mater. Rev. 34(1989) 213-245.
[5] L.C. Wei, L.E. Ehrlich, M.J.Powell-Palm, C.Montgomery, J. Beuth, J.A. Malen, Addit. Manuf. 21(2018) 201-208.
[6] L. Zheng, Q. Zhang, H. Cao, W. Wu, H. Ma, X. Ding, J. Yang, X. Duan, S. Fan, Mater. Des. 183(2019) 108110.
[7] S. Chandra, J. Radhakrishnan, S. Huang, S. Wei, U. Ramamurty, Prog. Mater. Sci. 148(2025) 101361.
[8] T.B. Sercombe, X. Li, Mater. Technol. 31(2016) 77-85.
[9] L. Yao, S. Huang, U. Ramamurty, Z. Xiao, Acta Mater. 220(2021) 117331.
[10] S. Wei, S. Huang, S.J. Ng, L. Zhang, Y. Zeng, P. Wang, U. Ramamurty, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 924 (2025) 147858.
[11] A.F. Chadwick, P.W. Voorhees, Acta Mater. 211(2021) 116862.
[12] X. Ao, H. Xia, J. Liu, Q. He, Mater. Des. 185(2020) 108230.
[13] K. Karayagiz, L. Johnson, R. Seede, V. Attari, B. Zhang, X. Huang, S. Ghosh, T. Duong, I. Karaman, A. Elwany, R. Arróyave, Acta Mater. 185(2020) 320-339.
[14] M. Bahramyan, R.T. Mousavian, J.G. Carton, D. Brabazon, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 812 (2021) 140999.
[15] W. Frieden Templeton, S. Hinnebusch, S.T. Strayer, A.C. To, P.C. Pistorius, S.P. Narra, Acta Mater. 266(2024) 119632.
[16] W. Kurz, D.J. Fisher, M. Rappaz, Trans Tech Publications, 2023.
[17] T. Wang, Y.Y. Zhu, S.Q. Zhang, H.B. Tang, H.M. Wang, J. Alloys Compd. 632(2015) 505-513.
[18] S. Wei, K.B. Lau, J.J. Lee, F. Wei, W.H. Teh, B. Zhang, C.C. Tan, P. Wang, U. Ramamurty, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 821 (2021) 141608.
[19] A. Piglione, B. Dovgyy, C. Liu, C.M. Gourlay, P.A. Hooper, M.S. Pham, Mater. Lett. 224(2018) 22-25.
[20] M. Laleh, A.E. Hughes, W. Xu, N. Haghdadi, K. Wang, P. Cizek, I. Gibson, M.Y. Tan, Corros. Sci. 161(2019) 108189.
[21] H. Amano, T. Ishimoto, K. Hagihara, R. Suganuma, K. Aiba, S.-H. Sun, P.Wang, T. Nakano, Virtual Phys. Prototyp. 18(2023) e2169172.
[22] O. Gokcekaya, T. Ishimoto, S. Hibino, J. Yasutomi, T. Narushima, T. Nakano, Acta Mater. 212(2021) 116876.
[23] S.B.A. Malladi, Z. Chen, A. Durga, N.H. Pettersson, G. Lindwall, S. Guo, L. Nyborg, Materialia 32 (2023) 101952.
[24] C.Y. Liu, J.D. Tong, M.G. Jiang, Z.W. Chen, G. Xu, H.B. Liao, P. Wang, X.Y. Wang, M. Xu, C.S. Lao, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 766 (2019) 138364.
[25] S. Chen, G. Guillemot, C.-A. Gandin, Acta Mater. 115(2016) 448-467.
[26] A.F. Chadwick, P.W. Voorhees, Acta Mater. 211(2021) 116862.
[27] G.P. Dinda, A.K. Dasgupta, J. Mazumder, Scr. Mater. 67(2012) 503-506.
[28] T. DebRoy, H.L. Wei, J.S. Zuback, T. Mukherjee, J.W. Elmer, J.O. Milewski, A.M. Beese, A. Wilson-Heid, A. De, W. Zhang, Prog. Mater. Sci. 92(2018) 112-224.
[29] N. Nadammal, T. Mishurova, T. Fritsch, I. Serrano-Munoz, A. Kromm, C. Haberland, P.D. Portella, G. Bruno, Addit. Manuf. 38(2021) 101792.
[30] P. Kumar, O. Prakash, U. Ramamurty, Acta Mater. 154(2018) 246-260.
[31] S. Greco, K. Gutzeit, H. Hotz, B. Kirsch, J.C. Aurich, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 108(2020) 1551-1562.
[32] F.C. Pinto, L.S. Aota, I.R.Souza Filho, D.Raabe, H.R.Z. Sandim, J. Mater. Sci. 57(2022) 9576-9598.
[33] M.S. Mohebbi, V. Ploshikhin, Addit. Manuf. 36(2020) 101726.
[34] L. Zhou, H. Yang, H. Hyer, Materialia 39 (2025) 102340.
[35] D. Zhang, D. Qiu, M.A. Gibson, Y. Zheng, H.L. Fraser, D.H. StJohn, M.A. Easton, Nature 576 (2019) 91-95.
[36] J. Wan, H. Geng, B. Chen, J. Shen, K. Kondoh, J. Li, Virtual Phys. Prototyp. 18(2023) e2165122.
[37] O. Andreau, I. Koutiri, P. Peyre, J.-D. Penot, N.Saintier, E. Pessard, T. De Terris, C. Dupuy, T. Baudin, J. Mate. Process. Technol. 264(2019) 21-31.
[38] S. Wei, Y. Zhao, B. Zhang, P. Wang, U. Ramamurty, Mater. Lett. 361(2024) 136077.
[39] A. Plotkowski, J. Ferguson, B. Stump, W. Halsey, V. Paquit, C. Joslin, S.S. Babu, A. Marquez Rossy, M.M. Kirka, R.R. Dehoff, Addit. Manuf. 46(2021) 102092.
[40] R.R. Dehoff, M.M. Kirka, W.J. Sames, H. Bilheux, A.S. Tremsin, L.E. Lowe, S.S. Babu, Mater. Sci. Technol. 31(2015) 931-938.
[41] M.M. Kirka, Y. Lee, D.A. Greeley, A. Okello, M.J. Goin, M.T. Pearce, R.R. Dehoff, JOM 69 (2017) 523-531.
[42] X. Luo, T. Song, A. Gebert, K. Neufeld, I. Kaban, H. Ma, W. Cai, H. Lu, D. Li, N. Li, Y. Li, C. Yang, Adv. Sci. 10(2023) e2302884.
[43] E. Alabort, Y.T. Tang, D. Barba, R.C. Reed, Acta Mater. 229(2022) 117749.
[44] J. Zhu, J. Xu, H. Kokawa, Y. Zhao, K. Feng, Z. Li, U. Ramamurty, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 886 (2023) 145679.
[45] J. Pauza, A. Rollett, J. Mater. Eng.Perform. 30(2021) 7007-7018.
[46] Z. Hu, S. Gao, J. Tai, S. Qu, J. Ding, X. Song, Z. Fan, Mater. Res. Lett. 11(2023) 231-238.
[47] L. Deng, L. Zhang, K. Kosiba, R. Limbach, L. Wondraczek, G. Wang, D. Gu, U. Kühn, S. Pauly, J. Mater. Sci.Technol. 81(2021) 139-150.
[48] J.J. Marattukalam, D. Karlsson, V. Pacheco, P. Beran, U. Wiklund, U. Jansson, B. Hjörvarsson, M. Sahlberg, Mater. Des. 193(2020) 108852.
[49] S. Chandra, C. Wang, S.B. Tor, U. Ramamurty, X. Tan, Nat. Commun. 15(2024) 3094.
[50] J.H. Martin, B.D. Yahata, J.M. Hundley, J.A. Mayer, T.A. Schaedler, T.M. Pollock, Nature 549 (2017) 365-369.
[51] W. Zhai, Z. Zhu, W. Zhou, S.M.L.Nai, J. Wei, Compos. Pt. B-Eng. 199(2020) 108291.
[52] Y.K. Xiao, Z.Y. Bian, Y. Wu, G. Ji, Y.Q. Li, M.J. Li, Q. Lian, Z. Chen, A. Addad, H.W. Wang, J. Alloys Compd. 798(2019) 644-655.
[53] Q. Tan, M. Zhang, Mater. Sci. Eng. R-Rep. 158(2024) 100773.
[54] W. Zhai, W. Zhou, S.M.L. Nai, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 840 (2022) 142912.
[55] S. Huang, R.L. Narayan, J.H.K.Tan, S.L. Sing, W.Y. Yeong, Acta Mater. 204(2021) 116522.
[56] K.V. Yang, Y. Shi, F. Palm, X. Wu, P. Rometsch, Scr. Mater. 145(2018) 113117.
[57] Y. Liu, J. Zhang, Q. Tan, Y. Yin, S. Liu, M. Li, M. Li, Q. Liu, Y. Zhou, T. Wu, F. Wang, M.-X. Zhang, Acta Mater. 220(2021) 117311.
[58] Y. Wen, X. Wu, A. Huang, R.L. Narayan, P. Wang, L. Zhang, B. Zhang, U. Ramamurty, X. Qu, Acta Mater. 264(2024) 119572.
[59] M. Gäumann, C. Bezençon, P. Canalis, W. Kurz, Acta Mater. 49(2001) 1051-1062.
[60] S. Wei, D. Wuu, V. Soh, K.B. Lau, F. Wei, K.A. Liogas, B. Zhang, Q. Zhu, C.K. Ng, A.M. Korsunsky, P. Wang, U. Ramamurty, Addit. Manuf. 83(2024) 104077.
[61] P. Lejček, M. Roudnická, J. Čapek, D. Dvorský, J. Drahokoupil, D. Šimek, J. Čížek, P.Svora, O. Molnárová, D. Vojtěch, Mater. Charact. 154(2019) 222-232.
[62] C.J. Todaro, M.A. Easton, D. Qiu, D. Zhang, M.J. Bermingham, E.W. Lui, M. Brandt, D.H.StJohn, M.Qian, Nat. Commun. 11(2020) 142.
[63] C.M. Liu, X.J. Tian, H.B. Tang, H.M. Wang, J. Alloys Compd. 572(2013) 17-24.
[64] K.A. Sofinowski, S. Raman, X. Wang, B. Gaskey, M. Seita, Addit. Manuf. 38(2021) 101809.
[65] P. Kürnsteiner, M.B. Wilms, A. Weisheit, B. Gault, E.A. Jägle, D. Raabe, Nature 582 (2020) 515-519.
[66] T. Zhang, Z. Huang, T. Yang, H. Kong, J. Luan, A. Wang, D. Wang, W. Kuo, Y. Wang, C.-T. Liu, Science 374 (2021) 478-482.
[67] H. Li, S. Thomas, C. Hutchinson, Acta Mater. 226(2022) 117637.
[68] Z. Li, T. Voisin, J.T.McKeown, J.Ye, T. Braun, C. Kamath, W.E. King, Y.M. Wang, Int. J. Plast. 120(2019) 395-410.
[69] W. Zhai, W. Zhou, S.M.L. Nai, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 840 (2022) 142912.
[70] M.S. Pham, B. Dovgyy, P.A. Hooper, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 704 (2017) 102-111.
[71] S. Li, Y. Zhao, P. Kumar, U. Ramamurty, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 851 (2022) 143591.
[72] Y.M. Wang, T. Voisin, J.T.McKeown, J.Ye, N.P. Calta, Z. Li, Z. Zeng, Y. Zhang, W. Chen, T.T. Roehling, R.T. Ott, M.K. Santala, Philip J. Depond, M.J. Matthews, A.V. Hamza, T. Zhu, Nat. Mater. 17(2018) 63-71.
[73] T.R. Smith, J.D. Sugar, C. San Marchi, J.M. Schoenung, Acta Mater. 164(2019) 728-740.
[74] K. Saeidi, X. Gao, Y. Zhong, Z.J. Shen, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 625 (2015) 221-229.
[75] J.G. Kim, J.B. Seol, J.M. Park, H. Sung, S.H. Park, H.S. Kim, Met. Mater.-Int. 27(2021) 2614-2622.
[76] R. Jayaraj Radhakrishnan, P. Kumar, H.L. Seet, S.M.L. Nai, P. Wang, U. Ramamurty, Materialia 21 (2022) 101272.
[77] J. Wan, K. Li, H. Geng, B. Chen, J. Shen, Y. Guo, K. Kondoh, A. Bahador, J. Li, Mater. Res. Lett. 11(2023) 422-429.
[78] S. Li, Y. Zhao, J. Radhakrishnan, U. Ramamurty, Acta Mater. 240(2022) 118290.
[79] S.G. Jeong, G.M. Karthik, E.S. Kim, A. Zargaran, S.Y. Ahn, M.J. Sagong, S.H. Kang, J.-W. Cho, H.S. Kim, Scr. Mater. 208(2022) 114332.
[80] Y. Zhu, X. Wu, Mater. Res. Lett. 7(2019) 393-398.
[81] M. Yang, Y. Pan, F. Yuan, Y. Zhu, X. Wu, Mater. Res. Lett. 4(2016) 145-151.
[82] L. Brown, W. Stobbs, Philos. Mag. 23(1971) 1201-1233.
[83] O. Bouaziz, Y. Bréchet, J.D. Embury, Adv. Eng. Mater. 10(2008) 24-36.
[84] J. da Costa Teixeira, L.Bourgeois, C.W. Sinclair, C.R. Hutchinson, Acta Mater. 57(2009) 6075-6089.
[85] C. Li, W.X. Zhang, H.O. Yang, J. Wan, X.X. Huang, Y.Z. Chen, J. Mater. Sci.Technol. 197(2024) 194-206.