Direct Synthesis of Fe-Al Alloys from Elemental Powders Using Laser Engineered Net Shaping

The laser engineered net shaping (LENS®) process is shown here as an alternative to melting, casting, and powder metallurgy for manufacturing iron aluminides. This technique was found to allow for the production of FeAl and Fe(3)Al phases from mixtures of elemental iron and aluminum powders. The in situ synthesis reduces the manufacturing cost and enhances the manufacturing efficiency due to the control of the chemical and phase composition of the deposited layers. The research was carried out on samples with different chemical compositions that were deposited on the intermetallic substrates that were produced by powder metallurgy. The obtained samples with the desired phase composition illustrated that LENS® technology can be successfully applied to alloys synthesis.