Influence of the thermal conductivity of different CuCr0.8 substrate state on the formability of laser directed energy deposition Inconel718 single track

One effective method for fabricating liquid rocket engine thrust chambers involves using laser directed energy deposition (LDED) to produce Cu/Ni bimetals by depositing Ni-based superalloys onto a High Strength and High Conductivity (HSHC) copper alloy. However, it is difficult to fabricate strengthening layer to the surface of HSHC Cu alloy due to its extremely high thermal conductivity. This paper investigates the influence of states of the HSHC CuCuCr0.8 substrate e.g., as-built of LPBF, rolled and annealed, and direct age after LPBF at 480 °C for 4 h, on the formability of In718 single track by LDED. The results indicate that the thermal conductivity is significantly influenced by the state of the HSHC CuCuCr0.8 substrate. At room temperature and 300 °C, the order of the thermal conductivity from low to high is as-built of LPBF, rolled and annealed, and direct age after LPBF at 480 °C for 4 h, while at 500 °C, the as-built of LPBF substrate has the lowest thermal conductivity, while the rolled and annealed substrate has the largest thermal conductivity. Thermal conductivity has a significant effect on the formability of LDED. The LPBF-ed substrate has the best formability, with a minimum Ra value of 9.72 ± 0.12 μm, a maximum deposition depth of 193.00 ± 4.32 μm, and a minimum grain size of 5.2 ± 2.6 μm because of its smallest thermal conductivity. These findings demonstrate that using an as-built LPBF-ed substrate can improve the LDED formability of the In718 single track compared with the other two substrates. This paper presents a new approach for LDED on alloy surfaces with high thermal conductivity.