Materials Science & Engineering A 894 (2024) 146180

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Materials Science & Engineering A

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/msea

Dispersed bainite improves ductility of additive manufactured steel parts in

deposited direction via an interlayer cooling with
isothermal transformation
Shuo Meng a, Chunmei Zhao b, Jin Chen a, Shijie Wang a, Dianlong Wang a, Qingxiang Yang b,
Yefei Zhou a, b, *, Xiaolei Xing a, **
a
School of Mechanical Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, 066004, PR China
b
State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science & Technology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, 066004, PR China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: A new deposition strategy combining interlayer cooling with isothermal transformation was studied using wire
High-strength low-alloy steel arc additive manufacturing based on cold metal transfer technology with high-strength low-alloy steel as the
Wire arc additive manufacturing research object. The effects of the deposition method on the geometrical characteristics, microstructure and
Interlayer cooling
mechanical properties of the alloys were systematically evaluated. The results show that the use of interlayer
Isothermal transformation
cooling combined with isothermal transformation is effective in accelerating the cooling rate, preventing the
Tensile properties
spreading of the melt pool, and reducing the overflow, thus obtaining higher geometrical accuracy compared
with the air-cooled method. The use of interlayer cooling can control the temperature gradient well. The mi­
crostructures of different deposition processes are almost acicular ferrite, M-A group elements and bainite
structure. The heat treatment process transforms part of the retained austenite into bainite structure, resulting in
a more uniform structure in the middle and upper parts of the sample. The samples prepared by the new
deposition strategy showed no obvious overlapping region during the tensile process, which improved the me­
chanical properties of the overlapping region, effectively increased the ductility of the thin-walled parts in the
vertical direction, and reduced the anisotropic mechanical behavior of the samples.

1. Introduction process is technically more cost-effective to manufacture than tradi­

tional subtractive manufacturing [5,6]. However, the steel produced by
Additive manufacturing (AM) often referred to as 3D printing, rep­ WAAM has additional complexity due to periodic rapid heating and
resents a transformative technological shift in modern manufacturing. It cooling, which leads to non-uniform microstructure and anisotropic
liberates structural design from the limitations of traditional mechanical properties.
manufacturing and uses a unique “layer by layer stacking” method to High-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel is a structural material that was
manufacture components with complex geometric shapes and special originally developed to replace mild steel due to its high strength to
functions, widely used in industries such as aerospace, automotive, weight ratio. Compared to other high-strength steels, HSLA steel is
nuclear energy, and ocean transportation [1,2]. Metal AM is divided into widely used in fields such as automotive and marine resource develop­
two main categories: powder bed fusion (PBF) [3] and directed energy ment engineering, as well as in the tool and mold industry for its
deposition (DED) [4]. While powder bed fusion improves the quality of excellent weldability, high strength, and toughness [7–9]. However, the
surface treatment and material utilization, it faces limitations in depo­ thermal cycling experienced during the WAAM process affects the
sition rate and sample size. Directed energy deposition methods, microstructure, which in turn affects the local mechanical properties of
including wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), have received the produced parts, resulting in significantly lower ductility in the ver­
much attention because of their high deposition rates and ability to tical direction than in the horizontal direction [10,11]. Meanwhile, the
produce larger, moderately complex parts, as well as the fact that the content distribution of retained austenite (RA) has a profound impact on

* Corresponding author. School of Mechanical Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, 066004, PR China.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (Y. Zhou), [email protected] (X. Xing).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2024.146180
Received 5 November 2023; Received in revised form 15 January 2024; Accepted 26 January 2024
Available online 28 January 2024
0921-5093/© 2024 Published by Elsevier B.V.
S. Meng et al. Materials Science & Engineering A 894 (2024) 146180

the properties of HSLA steel. Part of RA exists in HSLA steel and plays a Table 2
role in improving plasticity in the steel. However, RA is a metastable Process parameters for additive manufacturing.
phase and will undergo transformation under repeated thermal cycles of Main parameters Values
WAAM, thus affecting the performance of parts. Research shows that
Current (A) 160
carbon will diffuse in an environment above 400 ◦ C [12], and partially Voltage (V) 17
diffuse from body-centered cubic crystals (BCC) to face-centered cubic Travel speed (mm/min) 340
crystals (FCC). The cyclic heating process during WAAM will cause the Wire feed speed (mm/min) 5000
loss of carbon in the BCC and increase the size of the RA [13]. The coarse Flow rate of argon (L/min) 15
Interpass temperature (◦ C) 200
grains in the overlapping region will lead to the deterioration of the
strength and plasticity of HSLA steel, which will become the root cause
of premature failure of additive manufacturing samples. 2.2. Heat treatment method and mechanical test method
However, the high heat caused by the arc heat source is inevitable
during the WAAM process [14,15]. Studies have shown that the depo­ A modified heat treatment (MHT) method was used, in which
sition parameters of WAAM have a significant effect on heat input. isothermal salt bath treatment was carried out at the same time as the
While optimization of key deposition parameters such as current/volt­ fusion cladding. The temperature of the salt bath furnace was set at
age and welding speed does help to control heat input, the range that can 200 ◦ C and the distance between the deposited layer and the surface of
be formulated is often limited. In order to further adjust the heat input, the molten salt liquid was kept at 15 ± 5 mm. Meanwhile, using salt bath
we adjust it by controlling the interlayer temperature. Extending the quenching, the interlayer cooling temperature was controlled to 200 ◦ C,
interlayer residence time has been proven to be effective [16], but it as shown in Fig. 1. The completely clad samples were placed in a salt
undoubtedly reduces the deposition rate. Some active cooling methods, bath furnace for 2 h of isothermal treatment and finally air-cooled.
such as the use of compressed air [17] and liquid nitrogen immersion The direction of travel of the welding torch was defined as horizontal
[18], have improved ideas for improving manufacturing quality. How­ (H) and the deposited direction was defined as vertical (V), and the
ever, the method of auxiliary forced heat dissipation will also have a tensile samples were prepared separately, and three dog bone-shaped
great impact on the arc working environment, and heat treatment is one tensile samples with a cross section of 1.0 mm × 2.5 mm were pre­
of the key steps in the strengthening of high-strength low-alloy steel pared for each group. The uniaxial tensile samples were tested using the
[19]. Therefore, a modified heat treatment (MHT) method was used to WDW-20S electronic universal testing machine with a strain rate of
combine interlayer cooling with isothermal transformation. The 0.001 S− 1 at room temperature in accordance with ASTM E8. Strain was
isothermal treated sample has the advantages of good hardenability, measured using a video extensometer. Using a FM-700 Vickers fully
high hardness, good mechanical properties, small deformation and automatic Vickers hardness tester, 500 gf was loaded on the polished
metallic luster on the surface, which further improves the performance section for 10 s to measure the Vickers hardness at different positions of
of HSLA steel thin-walled parts. thin-walled parts.
In this paper, a method utilizing interlayer cooling combined with a
modified heat treatment method is designed. The effects of different
interlayer cooling methods on the geometrical characteristics, micro­ 2.3. Geometric characteristic and microstructure analysis
structure and mechanical properties of HSLA steel thin-walled parts in
the WAAM process were comparatively investigated, expanding the In order to characterize the geometrical accuracy, we extracted the
window for HSLA steel thin-walled parts in industrialized production. contours and observed the morphology of the cross sections of the thin-
walled parts, and measured the surface waviness (SW) of the sample
2. Experimental procedures parts by Mar Surf XC2 profilometer.
Samples for microstructural characterization were prepared using
2.1. Material and deposition process standard metallographic preparation methods. The samples were etched
using a 4 % nital (4 % HNO3, 96 % CH3CH2OH) for about 10 s. The
The WAAM system used in this study consists of a gas metal arc microstructures at different locations were observed using a scanning
welding (GMAW) system, a cooling system, a gas shielding system, an electron microscope (SEM, Hitachi S4800). The fracture morphology of
industrial robot and a temperature detection system. The wire feeder the tensile samples was analyzed by SEM. In addition, the crystallo­
delivers ER120S-G high-strength low-alloy steel wire with a diameter of graphic information of the tensile samples in 5 % strain condition was
Ф 1.2 mm, and the chemical composition of ER120S-G is shown in
Table 1.
A low carbon steel substrate with sizes of 200 mm × 100 mm × 10
mm was used. The substrate was first polished and then cleared with
alcohol and clamped to the bench. Cooling water circulating at 6 ◦ C was
provided through a chiller to cool down the temperature. Argon gas
(99.9 % purity) was used to protect the surface layer of the material from
oxidative contamination during deposition. Using air cooling, the
interlayer cooling temperature was controlled to 200 ◦ C to reduce heat
accumulation, and a 55-layer thin-walled part (TWP) with a recipro­
cating deposition path was prepared, which was defined as a TWP
sample. The thin wall length of each layer is 100 mm, and each depo­
sition layer starts from the end point of the previous layer. The specific
deposition parameters are shown in Table 2.

Table 1
Chemical composition of ER120S-G (wt.%).
C Si Mn P S Fe

0.08 0.61 1.56 0.007 0.005 Bal.

Fig. 1. Isothermal salt bath process schematic and deposition path diagram.

2
S. Meng et al. Materials Science & Engineering A 894 (2024) 146180

recorded by electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD). The EBSD samples carbon is fixed in the BCC structure, which can effectively improve the
were ground with SiC sandpaper (400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, strength of high-strength steel [22]. After the above process, when the
2500, 3000, 5000 grit) and then polished with diamond abrasive paste temperature of HSLA steel reaches 200 ◦ C, the carbon content of
of W1 until there were no major scratches on the surface, which was supercooled austenite is reduced due to the carbon being immobilized in
followed by a polishing treatment with SiO2 suspension. The final pol­ the BCC structure, and thus the possibility of the bainite transformation
ishing process was carried out using an ion thinning instrument (Leica occurs in the isothermal process. The above design avoids the increase in
EM RES102). The phase orientations were identified by X-ray diffraction austenite stability caused by excessive carbon content and prevents large
(XRD, D/max-2500/PC) using Cu radiation at an accelerating voltage of retained austenite residues in HSLA steel.
36 kV and a current of 24 mA with a scanning step of 0.02◦ and a
scanning speed of 2◦ /min in the range of 30◦ ~90◦ . 3.2. Geometric characteristics

3. Results and discussion SW is one of the important parameters for evaluating the deposition
quality of arc additive manufacturing prototypes, and it is the maximum
3.1. Blueprint for additive manufacturing process design peak-to-valley distance measured from the side profile of thin-walled
parts [23]. The SW of the TWP sample was measured by profilometer
The design of the structure transformation was first carried out by to be 1.75 mm, while the SW of the MHT sample was 1.35 mm. By
obtaining the CCT images of HSLA steel through JMatPro software, as combining interlayer cooling with isothermal transformation, the cool­
shown in Fig. S1. Taysom et al. showed that the post-weld air-cooling ing performance will be significantly improved and smaller SW will be
cold speed was about 5 ◦ C/s ~9 ◦ C/s [20]. Corresponding the cooling produced. As shown in Fig. 2 (a) and (b), the molding quality of the MHT
rate to the CCT diagram shows that HSLA steel first passes through the samples is significantly better than that of TWP samples. This is due to
ferrite phase region under air-cooling conditions, which will lead to a the fact that the faster cooling rate inhibits the flow of convective fluid
decrease in the comprehensive mechanical properties of HSLA steel if inside the melt pool. When the cooling rate is slower, there is more time
the ferrite grain size cannot be controlled. Therefore, by using salt bath for fluid flow and Marangoni convection to occur [24,25], and these
quenching to maintain the cooling rate above 20 ◦ C/s, HSLA steel can flows cause an increase in surface waviness. Meanwhile, during solidi­
avoid the phase zone where large ferrite blocks are formed, allowing fication, the molten metal shrinks as it transforms into a solid state. By
bainite ferrite to nucleate directly at the previous austenite grain rapidly cooling the material, solidification shrinkage is more uniform
boundaries [21]. At a salt bath quenching temperature lower than the and better adapted, resulting in lower surface waviness.
onset temperature of the martensitic transformation of HSLA steel, rapid The macrostructure of the cross-section of the thin-walled parts in
cooling can obtain a certain amount of martensitic structure, and the the XZ plane is shown in Fig. 2 (a) and (b), which indicates that three

Fig. 2. Cross-sectional macrostructures of (a) TWP and (b) MHT samples in the XZ plane; where (a1-3) are the SEM figures of the top, middle and bottom of TWP
samples, and (b1-3) are the SEM figures of the top, middle and bottom of MHT samples, respectively.

3
S. Meng et al. Materials Science & Engineering A 894 (2024) 146180

distinct regions can be recognized in the macrostructure of the sample.

Among them, in the top region of the thin-walled parts, there is no
obvious layered structure. In contrast, the macrostructure in the middle
region of the thin-walled parts shows a distinct horizontal laminar band
structure. The bottom region shows a concave curved laminar band
structure. Meanwhile, dense thin-walled parts were observed with no
obvious cracks, pores and incomplete fusion defects between the
deposited layers. The above results indicate that WAAM can be used to
deposit high-strength steel thin-walled parts with high density, good
interlayer morphology and no major defects.
By comparing the surface waveform distribution of the thin-walled
parts, it can be concluded that the position of the parallel bands is
related to the temperature field of the WAAM process. During the initial
deposition, the HSLA steel substrate at the melting boundary is heated to
the liquid phase line temperature. The heat on the substrate can be
transferred to both sides and not just propagated downward. As a result,
the band in the bottom region of this sample is concave. As the thin- Fig. 3. XRD figures of the two samples.
walled parts are deposited layer by layer, the effect of repeated ther­
mal cycling corresponds to the repetition of the heat-treatment process
FCC phase. Among them, the TWP sample contains relatively high
of the previous layer by the subsequent layers, which results in coars­
content of FCC phase, while the MHT sample is partially transformed
ening of the layer bands. The last layers in the top region have no visible
from FCC phase to BCC phase after heat treatment. The MHT samples
layer bands due to the relatively incomplete thermal history they have
have a reduced crystallite size due to the fast cooling rate. In combi­
undergone.
nation with the microstructure, a reduction of the bulk ferrite content
can be seen. As a result, the finer grain size leads to a relative broadening
3.3. Microstructural analysis
of the diffraction peaks of the MHT sample. In addition, the overall C
content of the sample remains unchanged and more C is solidly dissolved
Fig. 2 (a1-3) and (b1-3) show the microstructural distribution of the
into ferrite due to the reduced residual austenite content.
thin-walled parts in the XZ plane along the vertical direction in different
The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) bright-field images and
regions. The thin-walled parts are mainly composed of acicular ferrite
associated selected area electron diffraction (SAED) of the extracted
(AF), bainite, M-A group elements, and granular ferrite (GF).
lamellae are presented in Fig. 4. In Fig. 4 (a), the diffraction images were
During the WAAM process, the cooling rate of the deposited layer
recorded from the bright-field image of the region shown by the yellow
near the substrate is the fastest, which is more favorable for the for­
circle, and the typical FCC structure is shown in the SAED results,
mation of bainite. As a result, the bottom of the thin-walled parts con­
indicating that the TWP sample contains more retained austenite. In
tains more bainite and AF. After isothermal salt bath treatment, the
Fig. 4 (b), a clear BCC structure and a lower degree of FCC structure can
microstructure in the middle and top of the sample is relatively uniform
be observed in the area marked with a yellow dashed line. Energy
compared to TWP. However, for MHT samples, due to the relatively high
fluctuations can provide the energy increase required for nuclear em­
cooling rates at the middle and top compared to the bottom, GF are
bryos and critical crystal nucleus. The nonlinear positive feedback
formed.
interaction of various fluctuations rapidly amplifies the fluctuations,
In the manufacturing process of thin-walled parts, each layer of
leading to the instability and disintegration of the austenite structure,
HSLA steel deposited undergoes a thermal cycling process of rapid
and constructing the BCC structure. It is well-known that during bainitic
warming and cooling. When deposited to a certain layer, the tempera­
transformation, bainite ferrite and parent phase austenite follow the
ture of a few layers of the region below it will exceed the phase transition
Kurdjumov–Sachs (K–S) orientation relationship ({111}γ //{011}α and
point, and then the phase transition occurs. The non-phase transition
area below the phase transition area will experience a tempering effect. [101]γ //[111]α ) [27]. In the MHT samples, the faster cooling rate and
Ding et al. [26] found that when the deposited layer increases to a isothermal transformation led to the conversion of some RA into the
certain number of layers, the thermal cycling experienced by the lower bainite structure, thus reducing the RA content. During the incubation
sedimentary layer becomes stable. That is, when deposited at a certain period of the supercooled austenite in this temperature range, the
distance up from the substrate, the number of layers that can undergo carbon-free FCC phase rapidly forms a bainite ferrite core by means of a
phase transition below is stable. Therefore, there is no difference in the “bulk phase transformation” mechanism through energy fluctuations,
microstructure of the deposited layer between a certain number of layers achieving the transformation from FCC to BCC. Bulk phase trans­
below the top of the thin-walled parts of HSLA steel and a certain formation usually occurs during rapid cooling of the parent phase,
number of layers above the substrate. which transforms into one or more new phases with the same compo­
In Fig. 2 (b1-3), it can be observed that the microstructure of the sition as the initial phase but a different crystal structure. During the
MHT sample is mainly GF, which indicates that part of the austenite transformation process, the cooling rate is fast, which can fully suppress
undergoes transformation. For MHT samples, the cooling rate is faster the dissolution and precipitation caused by long-range diffusion.
than that of TWP samples, and the temperature at which the phase
transformation occurs is lower. When the cooling rate increases to the 3.5. Hardness
iron atoms diffusion is extremely difficult and carbon atoms can still
diffuse, austenite gradually decomposed into bainite. The microhardness of the thin-walled parts with two different pro­
cessing methods was tested in different regions along the vertical
3.4. XRD and TEM analysis centerline, and the test results are shown in Fig. 5. There is not much
difference in the microhardness results of the two samples. The average
XRD diffraction analysis of the middle region of the two thin-walled hardness of the TWP samples is 307 HV and the average hardness of the
part samples yielded the diffraction patterns shown in Fig. 3. It can be MHT samples is 313 HV. For the TWP samples, the bottom structure has
seen that the phases of the thin-walled parts prepared under the two more AF, while the top structure is mainly bainite, so it shows an
different conditions are mainly composed of BCC and a small amount of increasing trend from the bottom to the top; for the MHT samples, after

4
S. Meng et al. Materials Science & Engineering A 894 (2024) 146180

Fig. 4. TEM bright field images and SAED of (a) TWP sample and (b) MHT sample.

the formation of finer microstructures.

3.6. Tensile properties

The mechanical properties under TWP and MHT conditions were

characterized by tensile tests. In addition, the performance of thin-
walled parts at different regions of the bottom, middle, and top in the
horizontal and vertical directions was studied. Fig. 6 (a) shows the en­
gineering stress-strain curves under different process parameters and
directions. Fig. 6 (b) shows the comparison of the average tensile
properties of all specimens under TWP and MHT conditions. For TWP
samples, the average yield strength (YS = 650 ± 20 MPa), ultimate
tensile strength (UTS = 1008 ± 15 MPa), and elongation (EL = 14.7 %
± 1.8 %) of the H samples. The average yield strength (YS = 642 ± 22
MPa) and elongation (EL = 9.9 % ± 0.8 %) of the V samples. There is a
significant difference in elongation between the horizontal and vertical
directions, indicating that there is some anisotropy in the TWP samples,
which is related to the directional growth of the grains along the di­
Fig. 5. Microhardness of two samples in different regions. rection of the heat flow [28].
The average yield strength (YS = 686 ± 21 MPa), ultimate tensile
strength (UTS = 1024 ± 13 MPa), and elongation (EL = 14.8 % ± 1.3 %)
isothermal heat treatment, the structure is more uniform, so the bottom
of the H samples after MHT. The yield strength ratio of the MHT samples
and middle regions are more average, while the hardness value of the
was not significantly different from TWP, and the yield strength ratio (R)
top region is still higher. The hardness of the top region of thin-walled
between H and V was 0.99 (isotropic at R = 1), indicating that the MHT
parts has increased, because the solidification process in the top re­
samples were isotropic in terms of strength. In addition, the change in
gion is different from that in the middle and bottom regions. Without the
elongation (λ) of the V samples was calculated to be 25.69 % (in Fig. 6
influence of the heat source of the next layer of weld bead, it can lead to
(a)). It is worth noting that the elongation ratio of H and V samples

Fig. 6. (a) Stress-strain curve in the middle of a thin-walled part, (b) Stress-strain statistics in horizontal and vertical directions.

5
S. Meng et al. Materials Science & Engineering A 894 (2024) 146180

increased from 0.67 (9.9 % ± 0.8 % vs 14.7 % ± 1.8 %) in TWP to 0.84

(12.5 % ± 0.9 % vs 14.8 % ± 1.3 %) in MHT, while other properties did
not show significant changes. The results confirm that isothermal salt
bath treatment can weaken the anisotropy of elongation.
Fig. 7 (a) and (b) show the figures of evolution of vertical direction of
TWP and MHT tensile samples at different strain levels. For the TWP
samples, there are more obvious overlapping regions. At the same time,
strain localization and necking are formed in the overlapping region,
and cracks extend along the overlapping region, leading to final fracture,
which is the result of local strain and stress concentration. Moreover,
during the tensile process, the grains in the overlapping region of the
TWP sample are elongated along the deformation direction, leading to
grain refinement. However, no obvious overlapping necking region was
found in the upper region of the MHT samples, and a shallow over­
lapping region appeared in the lower region. This phenomenon indicates
that the grains in the overlapping and non-overlapping regions of the
MHT samples are simultaneously elongated along the deformation di­
rection as shown in Fig. 7 (c), thus exhibiting excellent ductility. It can Fig. 8. Tensile fracture morphology of (a) (b) TWP samples in horizontal and
be inferred from the above phenomenon that the overlapping region has vertical directions, (c) (d) MHT samples in horizontal and vertical directions.
a significant negative impact on the tensile properties of thin-walled
parts. In contrast, the samples in the horizontal direction show a more high tensile strength and low tensile ductility, while shallow toughness
uniform structure, thus showing better tensile properties. dimples reflect a decrease in sample elongation [29]. Significant dif­
Fig. 8 shows representative SEM images of the fracture morphology ferences in the dimensions and depths of the dimples can be observed
of the components produced by the TWP samples and the MHT samples. between the components of the TWP and MHT samples. The dimensions
A large number of relatively uniformly distributed dimples are visible on and depths of the dimples of the MHT samples are slightly larger than
the fracture surface, proving that the fracture mode is ductile fracture those of the TWP samples, which indicates that the thin-walled parts
and the formed material has good toughness. The differences in fracture have a better ductility after isothermal salt bath treatment.
surfaces are characteristic of the dimples and can reflect their mechan­ In order to analyze the reason for the increased ductility of the MHT
ical properties. Many studies have shown that small dimples result in samples in the vertical direction, the fusion region of the vertically

Fig. 7. Evolution of the vertical direction of (a) TWP and (b) MHT tensile samples at different strain levels, (c) Schematic diagram of the grain evolution process.

6
S. Meng et al. Materials Science & Engineering A 894 (2024) 146180

oriented samples at 5 % strain was selected for EBSD analysis. Fig. 9 (a) texture intensity of MHT indicates a more random distribution of lattice
and (b) show the EBSD inverse pole figure (IPF) of the fusion region of orientations, and the isothermal salt bath treatment has weakened the
vertically oriented tensile samples in the unbroken state at 5 % strain. anisotropy of the samples. By reducing the anisotropy, the ductility of
After the sample was deformed, the quality of the Kikuchi pattern the material can be made more uniform in all directions, which results in
deteriorated due to the accumulation of lattice defects and the onset of a decrease in the difference between the elongation of the samples in the
significant lattice deformation, and the grain size was very small. The vertical and horizontal directions.
different colors in the IPF plot correspond to the direction of the grains Meanwhile, in polycrystalline materials, grain boundaries play a
relative to the lattice, and each color corresponds to a unique combi­ crucial role in adapting to plastic deformation [33,34]. When a material
nation of Euler angles. The direction of the grain of the TWP sample was is subjected to mechanical stress, dislocations are generated, which are
mainly distributed along the <001> and <111> direction, and showed line defects in the lattice and move within the material to adapt to
a good preference orientation. The reason for this difference in orien­ deformation. In Fig. 9 (c) and (d), the high angle grain boundaries
tation is that during solidification, the pre-solidified columnar crystals (HAGBs) are θ > 15◦ and the low angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) are
grow along the direction perpendicular to the highest temperature 2◦ <θ < 15◦ . After isothermal salt bath treatment, the percentage of
gradient at the solid-liquid surface [30]. During the WAAM process, the HAGBs in the sample increased from 28 % to 33 %. HAGBs are obstacles
direction of the temperature gradient in the melt pool generally follows to dislocation movement [35], and when dislocations encounter HAGBs,
the deposition direction from bottom to top, but the solidification pro­ they accumulate at the grain boundaries, leading to local plastic defor­
cess is complex and the direction of the temperature gradient may have mation and strain hardening. This strain hardening enhances the
other deviations that create this preferred orientation. In contrast, the ductility of the material by preventing premature failure and allowing
lattice orientation of the MHT samples is different from that of the TWP more extensive plastic deformation before fracture occurs. In addition to
samples, the distribution of the lattice orientation of the MHT samples is hindering dislocation movement, HAGBs can also improve ductility by
more random. When the cooling rate of thin-walled parts is faster, atoms adapting to grain boundary sliding.
do not have enough time to arrange themselves into a clear crystal Fig. 10 (a) and (b) show the recrystallization figures of the fusion
structure. As a result, grains formed in faster cooling rate materials tend region of the tensile samples (green represents recrystallization, yellow
to be smaller and more randomly oriented than grains from slower represents recovery, and purple represents deformation structure).
cooling processes [31,32]. Among them, the TWP contained 6.26 % of recrystallization and 2.50 %
During the tensile process of the sample, the formation of deforma­ of recovery, while MHT after isothermal treatment contained 7.71 % of
tion texture results in a preferred orientation of the properties of the recrystallization and 4.29 % of recovery. The results indicate that
metal. In contrast, the isothermal salt bath treatment sample produces isothermal salt bath treatment at 200 ◦ C can promote recrystallization of
relatively low values of texture strength as shown in the pole figure (PF) thin-walled parts of HSLA steel. The higher temperature allows atoms to
in Fig. 9 (e) and (f), which were calculated for two samples at {100}, move more freely within the material, which promotes the redistribu­
{110}, {111}. Among them, the maximum texture intensity is 10.75 for tion of impurities, defects, and dislocations within the microstructure of
the TWP samples and 9.69 for the MHT samples. The decrease in the the steel, resulting in the formation of new smaller grains with lower

Fig. 9. EBSD analysis of fusion zone of vertical direction samples at 5 % strain rate, IPF figures of (a) TWP and (b) MHT samples, grain boundary figures of (c) TWP
and (d) MHT samples, PF figures of (e) TWP and (f) MHT samples.

7
S. Meng et al. Materials Science & Engineering A 894 (2024) 146180

Fig. 10. Recrystallization and Schmidt factor figures of (a)(c) TWP and (b)(d) MHT samples in the vertical overlapping region at 5 % strain rate.

internal stresses. Isothermal salt bath treatment produces a more uni­ transformed to bainite structure. More uniform structure in the
form microstructure through fine-grained nucleation sites. When the middle and upper parts of the sample.
material is deformed, these sites act as starting points for the formation (3) The tensile strengths of the two thin-walled parts in the hori­
of newly recrystallized grains. Strain is introduced into the material zontal and vertical directions are not very different, and the
during tensile because of deformation, which promotes the process of ductility of the vertical direction sample is lower than that of the
strain induced recrystallization. During tensile deformation, disloca­ horizontal direction sample. After isothermal transformation, the
tions accumulate and interact with each other, resulting in strain con­ elongation of the vertically oriented samples increased by 25.69
centrations in the fusion region of the material. This strain concentration %, which is related to the transformation of the bainite structure
leads to local stress and eventually to fracture. During recrystallization, and the internal microstructure.
new grains with lower dislocation density and more favorable grain
orientation are formed and strain is redistributed. This redistribution of CRediT authorship contribution statement
strain helps relieve stress concentrations and makes the material more
resistant to fracture. Recrystallization typically results in the formation Shuo Meng: Writing – original draft, Investigation, Data curation.
of smaller grain sizes compared to the original deformed structure. Chunmei Zhao: Formal analysis, Conceptualization. Jin Chen: Data
Smaller grains are more favorable for ductility because they provide curation. Shijie Wang: Investigation. Dianlong Wang: Conceptualiza­
more grain boundaries where plastic deformation may occur. Grain tion. Qingxiang Yang: Supervision. Yefei Zhou: Supervision, Method­
boundaries are regions where dislocations can move more easily, ology, Funding acquisition. Xiaolei Xing: Writing – review & editing,
allowing the material to deform without catastrophic damage. Resources, Methodology.
Conversely, larger grains with fewer grain boundaries promote crack
propagation and brittleness [36,37]. The Schmidt factors of the two Declaration of competing interest
samples were counted as shown in Fig. 10 (c) and (d). The Schmidt
factors of both samples are relatively concentrated, mainly in the range The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
of 0.4–0.5. Among them, the Schmidt factor of the MHT sample is interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
generally higher than that of the TWP sample. A high Schmidt factor the work reported in this paper.
indicates that the slip system of the samples is more favorable to
deformation, which usually leads to a greater ductility of the material Data availability
along that direction.
Data will be made available on request.
4. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
In this study, thin-walled parts of ER120S-G high-strength low-alloy
steel were prepared by WAAM technology, and a new deposition strat­ This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation
egy combining interlayer cooling with isothermal transformation was of China (Grant No. 52375208 and No. 51905466), S&T Program of
investigated, and its effects on geometrical features, microstructure and Hebei (Grant No. 236Z1809G), Natural Science Foundation of Hebei
mechanical properties were analyzed in detail in comparison. The main Province China (Grant Nos. E2020203184 and E2021203191), The
findings are summarized as follows: Aeronautical Science Foundation of China (No. 201945099002), Youth
Top Talent Project of Hebei Province Higher Education (Grant No.
(1) The MHT samples have lower surface waviness due to faster BJ2019058).
cooling rate, from 1.75 mm to 1.35 mm. Thin-walled parts of
HSLA steel manufactured by reciprocal deposition path have high Appendix A. Supplementary data
deposition density, good interlayer morphology and no major
defects. Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
(2) The microstructure of different deposition processes is almost org/10.1016/j.msea.2024.146180.
acicular ferrite, M-A group elements and granular ferrite. After
isothermal heat treatment, some of the retained austenite is

8
S. Meng et al. Materials Science & Engineering A 894 (2024) 146180

References [19] N. Xi, K. Tang, X. Fang, Y. Li, Y. Duan, K. Huang, Enhanced comprehensive
properties of directed energy deposited Inconel 718 by a novel integrated
deposition strategy, J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 141 (2023) 42–55.
[1] Z. Liu, D. Zhao, P. Wang, M. Yan, C. Yang, Z. Chen, J. Lu, Z. Lu, Additive
[20] B.S. Taysom, C.D. Sorensen, Controlling martensite and pearlite formation with
manufacturing of metals: microstructure evolution and multistage control,
cooling rate and temperature control in rotary friction welding, Int. J. Mach. Tool
J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 100 (2022) 224–236.
Manufact. 150 (2020).
[2] A. Dwivedi, M.K. Khurana, Y.G. Bala, Heat-treated nickel alloys produced using
[21] S.S. Ghasemi Banadkouk, D.P. Dunne, Formation of ferritic products during
laser powder bed fusion-based additive manufacturing methods: a review, Chin. J.
continuous cooling of a Cu-bearing HSLA steel, ISIJ Int. 46 (2006) 759–768.
Mech. Eng.: Additive Manufact. Front. 2 (3) (2023).
[22] V. Mishra, A. Babu, R. Schreurs, K. Wu, M.J.M. Hermans, C. Ayas, Microstructure
[3] H. Fan, C. Wang, Y. Tian, K. Zhou, S. Yang, Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) of
estimation and validation of ER110S-G steel structures produced by wire and arc
Ti–6Al–4V/Ti–6Al–2Sn–4Zr–2Mo and Ti–6Al–4V/γ-TiAl bimetals: processability,
additive manufacturing, J. Mater. Res. Technol. 23 (2023) 3579–3601.
interface and mechanical properties, Mater. Sci. Eng., A 871 (2023).
[23] P. Kazanas, P. Deherkar, P. Almeida, H. Lockett, S. Williams, Fabrication of
[4] S. Zhou, Z. Liu, G. Yang, X. Li, J. Wang, X. Guo, X. Wang, Heterostructure
geometrical features using wire and arc additive manufacture, Proc. IME B J. Eng.
microstructure and laves phase evolution mechanisms during inter-layer
Manufact. 226 (6) (2012) 1042–1051.
hammering hybrid directed energy deposition (DED) process, Mater. Sci. Eng., A
[24] S. Tsang, C.-l. Sun, Utilizing the inverse Marangoni convection to facilitate
886 (2023).
extremely-low-flow-rate intermittent spray cooling for large-area systems, Appl.
[5] M. Shamsujjoha, J. Licavoli, B. Lin, E. Harma, R. Patterson, T. Timmermann,
Therm. Eng. 166 (2020).
M. Groeneveld, L. McLeod, P. Sanders, Tailoring microstructure of wire arc
[25] J. Shao, G. Yu, X. He, S. Li, R. Chen, Y. Zhao, Grain size evolution under different
additively manufactured C–Mn–Si steel with post process heat treatment, Mater.
cooling rate in laser additive manufacturing of superalloy, Opt Laser. Technol. 119
Sci. Eng., A 825 (2021).
(2019).
[6] P. Dirisu, S. Ganguly, A. Mehmanparast, F. Martina, S. Williams, Analysis of
[26] J. Ding, P. Colegrove, J. Mehnen, S. Ganguly, P.M. Sequeira Almeida, F. Wang,
fracture toughness properties of wire + arc additive manufactured high strength
S. Williams, Thermo-mechanical analysis of wire and arc additive layer
low alloy structural steel components, Mater. Sci. Eng., A (2019) 765.
manufacturing process on large multi-layer parts, Comput. Mater. Sci. 50 (12)
[7] T.A. Rodrigues, V. Duarte, J.A. Avila, T.G. Santos, R.M. Miranda, J.P. Oliveira,
(2011) 3315–3322.
Wire and arc additive manufacturing of HSLA steel: effect of thermal cycles on
[27] J.-H. Kang, J. Kim, J.-Y. Kang, S.-W. Kwon, M.-W. Kang, S.H. Hong, Multiscale
microstructure and mechanical properties, Addit. Manuf. 27 (2019) 440–450.
study on the dark-etching region due to rolling contact fatigue of 0.57C-bearing
[8] J.G. Lopes, C.M. Machado, V.R. Duarte, T.A. Rodrigues, T.G. Santos, J.P. Oliveira,
steel, Acta Mater. 226 (2022).
Effect of milling parameters on HSLA steel parts produced by Wire and Arc
[28] K. Song, Z. Lin, Y. Fa, X. Zhao, Z. Zhu, W. Ya, Z. Sun, X. Yu, Microstructure and
Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), J. Manuf. Process. 59 (2020) 739–749.
mechanical properties of high-strength, low-alloy steel thin-wall fabricated with
[9] Y. Shao, C. Liu, Z. Yan, H. Li, Y. Liu, Formation mechanism and control methods of
wire and arc additive manufacturing, Metals 13 (4) (2023).
acicular ferrite in HSLA steels: a review, J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 34 (5) (2018)
[29] X. Shi, S. Ma, C. Liu, Q. Wu, J. Lu, Y. Liu, W. Shi, Selective laser melting-wire arc
737–744.
additive manufacturing hybrid fabrication of Ti-6Al-4V alloy: microstructure and
[10] L. Sun, F. Jiang, R. Huang, D. Yuan, C. Guo, J. Wang, Anisotropic mechanical
mechanical properties, Mater. Sci. Eng., A 684 (2017) 196–204.
properties and deformation behavior of low-carbon high-strength steel component
[30] A. Eghlimi, M. Shamanian, M. Eskandarian, A. Zabolian, J.A. Szpunar,
fabricated by wire and arc additive manufacturing, Mater. Sci. Eng., A 787 (2020).
Characterization of microstructure and texture across dissimilar super duplex/
[11] A. Vahedi Nemani, M. Ghaffari, S. Salahi, A. Nasiri, Effects of post-printing heat
austenitic stainless steel weldment joint by austenitic filler metal, Mater. Char. 106
treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a wire arc additive
(2015) 208–217.
manufactured 420 martensitic stainless steel part, Mater. Sci. Eng., A 813 (2021).
[31] M. Yang, L. Wang, W. Yan, Phase-field modeling of grain evolutions in additive
[12] B.B. He, B. Hu, H.W. Yen, G.J. Cheng, Z.K. Wang, H.W. Luo, M.X. Huang, High
manufacturing from nucleation, growth, to coarsening, npj Comput. Mater. 7 (1)
dislocation density–induced large ductility in deformed and partitioned steels,
(2021).
Science 357 (2017) 1029–1032.
[32] M. Glyn, W.P. Gordon, Phasetransformations in metals and alloys, Annu. Rev.
[13] Cai Heng-jun, Gao Zhe, Song RenBo, Pei Yu, Yu SanChuan, Continuous cooling
Mater. Sci. 3 (1973) 327–362.
transformation behavior and phase transformation model in low carbon HSLA
[33] J. Wei, B. Feng, R. Ishikawa, T. Yokoi, K. Matsunaga, N. Shibata, Y. Ikuhara, Direct
steel, Trans. Mater. Heat Treat. 36 (2015) 214–219.
imaging of atomistic grain boundary migration, Nat. Mater. 20 (7) (2021)
[14] R.M. Kindermann, M.J. Roy, R. Morana, J.A. Francis, Effects of microstructural
951–955.
heterogeneity and structural defects on the mechanical behaviour of wire + arc
[34] W. Zhang, H. Wang, B.J. Kooi, Y. Pei, Additive manufacturing of interstitial-
additively manufactured Inconel 718 components, Mater. Sci. Eng., A 839 (2022).
strengthened high entropy alloy: scanning strategy dependent anisotropic
[15] S. Sui, H. Tan, J. Chen, C. Zhong, Z. Li, W. Fan, A. Gasser, W. Huang, The influence
mechanical properties, Mater. Sci. Eng., A 872 (2023).
of Laves phases on the room temperature tensile properties of Inconel 718
[35] T.M. Shun Kondo, Naoya Shibata, Yuichi Ikuhara, Direct observation of individual
fabricated by powder feeding laser additive manufacturing, Acta Mater. 164
dislocation interaction processes with grain boundaries, Sci. Adv. 2 (2016) 7.
(2019) 413–427.
[36] G. Dini, A. Najafizadeh, R. Ueji, S.M. Monir-Vaghefi, Improved tensile properties of
[16] D. Van, G.P. Dinda, J. Park, J. Mazumder, S.H. Lee, Enhancing hardness of Inconel
partially recrystallized submicron grained TWIP steel, Mater. Lett. 64 (1) (2010)
718 deposits using the aging effects of cold metal transfer-based additive
15–18.
manufacturing, Mater. Sci. Eng., A (2020) 776.
[37] Y. Xie, M. Gao, F. Wang, Q. Li, X. Zeng, A new recrystallization at semi-coherent
[17] B. Snyder, A.M. Strauss, In-process cooling of friction stir extruded joints for
micro-lamella and its effect on tensile properties of wire arc additive manufactured
increased weld performance via compressed air, water, granulated dry ice, and
titanium alloy, Mater. Sci. Eng., A 737 (2018) 310–317.
liquid nitrogen, J. Manuf. Process. 68 (2021) 1004–1017.
[18] V.T. Le, D.S. Mai, H. Paris, Influences of the compressed dry air-based active
cooling on external and internal qualities of wire-arc additive manufactured thin-
walled SS308L components, J. Manuf. Process. 62 (2021) 18–27.