The Journal of
the Korean Journal of Metals and Materials

The Journal of
the Korean Journal of Metals and Materials

Monthly
  • pISSN : 1738-8228
  • eISSN : 2288-8241

Editorial Office

Title Effect of Cr addition into Fe-Mn-Al-Ni Superelastic Alloy Fabricated by Laser Direct Energy Deposition on Microstructure and Superelastic Properties
Authors 백하은(Haeun Baik) ; 박지영(Jiyoung Park) ; 임진수랑(Jinsurang Lim) ; 이욱진(Je In Lee) ; 이제인(Wookjin Lee) ; 김도형(Dohyung Kim)
DOI https://doi.org/10.3365/KJMM.2026.64.5.400
Page pp.400-410
ISSN 1738-8228(ISSN), 2288-8241(eISSN)
Keywords Additive manufacturing; Fe-Mn-Al-Ni; In-situ alloying; Laser direct energy deposition; Superelasticity
Abstract In this study, an Fe-Mn-Al-Ni?based superelastic alloy was fabricated by laser direct energy deposition, and the effect of Cr on its microstructure and superelastic properties was investigated. The Cr addition up to 7 wt.% changed the dominant solidification phase in the as-built state from a face-centered cubic phase to a body-centered cubic (BCC) phase. The elemental Cr powders were not fully melted in the as-built state due to the high melting point of Cr. After solution treatment at 1200 oC for 6 h, all samples, with and without Cr, consisted of BCC-α and showed no evidence of unmolten Cr powder. Before the cyclic compression test to evaluate superelastic properties, further heat treatment was performed at 200 oC for 3 h to ensure high superelasticity through the precipitation of B2?NiAl. In addition to the changes in phase evolution in the as-built state, the Cr addition also stabilized BCC-α in the heat-treated state, resulting in an increase in the critical stress in the phase transformation from BCC-α to FCT (face-centered tetragonal)- γ' from 202.3 MPa for 0Cr to 233.9 MPa for 7Cr. Additionally, the critical stress for slip is also substantially increased by ~74% (560.6 MPa for 0Cr and 976.9 MPa for 7Cr, respectively). Both are favorable for the superelastic property. The former could promote reverse phase transformation upon unloading due to higher BCC-α stability, the latter effectively hinders permanent deformation induced by slip. As a result, the superelastic displacement increased by ~19%, from 3.567 for 0Cr to 4.257 for 7Cr.