Characterization of gas-flow assisted additive manufacturing of metallic glass powders on ground and in microgravity

Kurzfassung

We studied bulk metallic glass samples produced from gas-flow assisted laser powder bed fusion process, which is capable of additively manufacture metallic parts under microgravity. The process was performed in a compact sounding rocket payload called MARS-M, in which two metallic glass alloy compositions, Zr59.3Cu28.8Al10.4Nb1.5 and Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5 have been processed on ground and under microgravity. Using scanning electron microscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction tomography, we show that for both compositions the obtained samples contain given crystalline fractions, which preferably form at the interlayer boundaries. Very similar microstructures and crystalline fractions are also observed in the sample manufactured under microgravity conditions. Part of the nanocrystalline phases can be identified as the Cu2Zr4O phase, which might be related to the oxygen content in the initial material and the processing atmosphere. With these results, these process conditions can be improved for further space applications.