Effects of Post-Process on the Microstructure and Mechanical Performance of an LPBF-Fabricated Fe-Based Alloy

A novel Fe-based alloy, designated as AMSD, was designed using a machine-learning-assisted high-throughput strategy, and it was successfully fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing without crack formation. This work systematically investigated the effects of post-process cooling rates on the microstructure and mechanical performance of the LPBF-fabricated AMSD alloy. After solution treatment at 1200 °C for 2 h, two cooling conditions, namely air cooling (AC) and water quenching (WQ), were applied, followed by aging at 500 °C for 24 h. It was found that the as-built (AB) alloy exhibited a typical cellular structure, epitaxial columnar grains, and a continuous intercellular segregation network. Post-processing eliminated the segregation network and promoted a more homogeneous microstructure with multiscale precipitates. Compared with AC condition, WQ preserved a finer and denser population of grain-boundary borides and achieved a superior strength-ductility balance, with a UTS of 1072 ± 15 MPa and an elongation of 18.2 ± 0.3% achieved. In contrast, the AC sample exhibited a higher UTS of 1436 ± 45 MPa but lower ductility. These results demonstrate that post-process cooling rates play a key role in regulating precipitate evolution and mechanical performance in LPBF Fe-based alloys.