Electron Backscatter Diffraction Analysis of Inconel 718 Parts Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting Additive Manufacturing

In this study, the crystallographic texture of an Inconel 718 part fabricated by selective laser melting was investigated. The front surface (X-Z plane) microstructure is characterized by the columnar grains growing along the build direction, and the width of columnar grains is in the range of about 75-150 A mu m, with the bottom layers having narrower grains as a result of a higher cooling rate. In addition to equiaxed grains, the top surface (X-Y plane) has a feature of patch patterns resulting from the laser scanning strategy. Based on the electron backscatter diffraction results, there appears only weak crystallographic texture in both the X-Z plane and the X-Y plane of the part. From the grain boundary map, the microstructures are composed of high-angle boundaries with a larger fraction of subgrain boundaries.