Investigation on seam quality and fatigue crack propagation in electron beam welded additive manufactured Inconel 939

Laser powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M) offers great potential for the production of new and spare parts for stationary gas turbines made of nickel superalloys such as Inconel 939 (IN939). In order to enable integration into existing assemblies and overcome design limitations, the additive manufacturing process chain must be expanded by suitable joining techniques. This study compares the electron beam welding of cast IN939 sheets and sheets produced additively using PBF-LB/M. The investigation focuses on the achievable seam quality with regard to geometric irregularities and internal defects in the form of liquation cracks on the microscale in the heat-affected zone. The evaluation of the welded samples shows no differences in the formation of the seam shape between the additively manufactured material and the cast material. For both materials, the highest quality category for beam-welded seams according to DIN EN ISO 13919-1 was achieved at high welding speeds of 20 mm/s. Regardless of the manufacturing method, both materials show an increase in crack formation with increasing welding speed. However, due to its microstructure, the PBF-LB/M material exhibits significantly fewer microcracks overall. Final crack propagation tests on welded PBF-LB/M samples that were treated using HIP also show stable crack growth without sudden failure, which opens up potential for practical application.