Influence of the heat treatment on the microstructure, mechanical and high-temperature oxidation behavior of Hastelloy X alloy fabricated via laser powder bed fusion

The effect of building direction and heat treatment on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and high-temperature oxidation behavior of Hastelloy X (HX) alloy fabricated by the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) method was studied. Electron backscatter diffraction analyses revealed that the development of textured columnar grains with varying average grain sizes, boundary fractions, and dislocation densities induced the mechanical anisotropy observed in both horizontally and vertically fabricated samples. The yield strength (YS) values of the horizontally and vertically as-fabricated samples were determined as 605.7 ± 15.9 MPa and 552.3 ± 8.5 MPa, respectively. The post-processing heat treatment increased the ductility remarkably and reduced YS value down to ∼445 MPa for all samples by the elimination of microstructural anisotropy and increased grain size subsequent to recrystallization. Oxidation tests conducted at 900 °C up to 100 h on as-fabricated samples exhibited severe intergranular oxidation, which was accompanied by the formation of large voids and microcracks as well as spallation of the oxide layer. In contrast, the heat-treatment improved the oxidation resistance of the alloy possibly due to the formation of uniform and dense Cr₂O₃ layer on the substrate surface.