Effect of Different Post-Processing Thermal Treatments on the Fracture Toughness and Tempering Resistance of Additively Manufactured H13 Hot-Work Tool Steel

settings Order Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Effect of Different Post-Processing Thermal Treatments on the Fracture Toughness and Tempering Resistance of Additively Manufactured H13 Hot-Work Tool Steel by Faraz Deirmina 1 [ORCID] , Sasan Amirabdollahian 2,3, Massimo Pellizzari 3,* [ORCID] and Alberto Molinari 3 1 Sandvik Additive Manufacturing, Sandvik Machining Solutions AB, 811 81 Sandviken, Sweden 2 Additive Manufacturing R&D, ProM Facility Area, Trentino Sviluppo S.p.A., Via Fortunato Zeni 8, 38068 Rovereto, Italy 3 Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Trento, Italy * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Metals 2024, 14(1), 112; https://doi.org/10.3390/met14010112 Submission received: 15 December 2023 / Revised: 4 January 2024 / Accepted: 15 January 2024 / Published: 17 January 2024 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing for Tooling Applications: Materials, Design, Processes & Impacts) Download keyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Versions Notes Abstract Near-full density and crack-free AISI H13 hot-work tool steel was fabricated using laser-directed energy deposition (L-DED). Two different heat-treatment scenarios, i.e., direct tempering (ABT) from the as-built (AB) condition and systematization and quenching prior to tempering (QT), were investigated, and their effect on the microstructure, hardness, fracture toughness (Kapp), and tempering resistance of the L-DED H13 is reported. For this purpose, the optimal austenitization schedule was identified, and tempering curves were produced. At a similar hardness level (500 HV1), QT parts showed higher Kapp (89 MPa√m) than ABT (70 MPa√m) levels. However, the fracture toughness values obtained for both parts were comparable to those of wrought H13. The slightly larger Kapp in the QT counterpart was discussed considering the microstructural homogenization and recrystallization taking place during high-temperature austenitization. The tempering resistance of the ABT material at 600 °C was slightly improved compared with that of the QT material, but for longer holding times (up to 40 h) and higher temperatures (650 °C), ABT showed superior resistance to thermal softening due to a finer martensite substructure (i.e., block size), a finer secondary carbide size, and a larger volume fraction of secondary V(C,N) carbides.