Faculty Publications
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Item Tailoring surface characteristics of bioabsorbable Mg-Zn-Dy alloy using friction stir processing for improved wettability and degradation behavior(Elsevier Editora Ltda, 2021) Rokkala, U.; Bontha, S.; Ramesh, M.R.; Balla, V.K.; Srinivasan, A.; Kailas, S.V.Magnesium (Mg) and its alloys are currently under consideration for use as temporary implants. However, early degradation and maintaining mechanical integrity is a significant concern. Surface modification techniques are used to improve mechanical and corrosion properties of Mg based alloys. In the present study, friction stir processing (FSP) was used to tailor the surface characteristics of Mg-1Zn-2Dy (wt.%) alloy for temporary implant applications. The FSPed alloy was characterized using EBSD to understand the influence of FSP on crystallographic texture, grain size and grain boundaries and thereby their effect on corrosion, wettability and hardness. Results showed that the grain size of stir zone (SZ) was refined to less than 3 ?m, as a result of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) during FSP and the FSPed alloy exhibited better wettability than as-cast alloy. An increase in the hardness (11.7%) and elastic modulus (6.84%) of FSPed alloy were also observed. Electrochemical corrosion and weight loss methods were conducted in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM) with, 10% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) physiological solution. The lower degradation rate (0.72 mm/yr) of FSPed alloy has been attributed to the fine grains and evenly distributed secondary phase particles. Further, the influence of grain boundary characteristics and crystallographic texture on the corrosion behavior have been investigated. © 2021 The Author(s).Item Enhancing fatigue performance of AZ31 magnesium alloy components fabricated by cold metal transfer-based wire arc directed energy deposition through LPB(KeAi Communications Co., 2024) Manjhi, S.K.; Bontha, S.; Balan, A.A.S.Cold Metal Transfer-Based Wire Arc Directed Energy Deposition (CMT-WA-DED) presents a promising avenue for the rapid fabrication of components crucial to automotive, shipbuilding, and aerospace industries. However, the susceptibility to fatigue of CMT-WA-DED-produced AZ31 Mg alloy components has impeded their widespread adoption for critical load-bearing applications. In this study, a comprehensive investigation into the fatigue behaviour of WA-DED-fabricated AZ31 Mg alloy has been carried out and compared to commercially available wrought AZ31 alloy. Our findings indicate that the as-deposited parts exhibit a lower fatigue life than wrought Mg alloy, primarily due to poor surface finish, tensile residual stress, porosity, and coarse grain microstructure inherent in the WA-DED process. Low Plasticity Burnishing (LPB) treatment is applied to mitigate these issues, which induce significant plastic deformation on the surface. This treatment resulted in a remarkable improvement of fatigue life by 42%, accompanied by a reduction in surface roughness, grain refinement and enhancement of compressive residual stress levels. Furthermore, during cyclic deformation, WA-DED specimens exhibited higher plasticity and dislocation density compared to both wrought and WA-DED + LPB specimens. A higher fraction of Low Angle Grain Boundaries (LAGBs) in WA-DED specimens contributed to multiple crack initiation sites and convoluted crack paths, ultimately leading to premature failure. In contrast, wrought and WA-DED + LPB specimens displayed a higher percentage of High Angle Grain Boundaries (HAGBs), which hindered dislocation movement and resulted in fewer crack initiation sites and less complex crack paths, thereby extending fatigue life. These findings underscore the effectiveness of LPB as a post-processing technique to enhance the fatigue performance of WA-DED-fabricated AZ31 Mg alloy components. Our study highlights the importance of LPB surface treatment on AZ31 Mg components produced by CMT-WA-DED to remove surface defects, enabling their widespread use in load-bearing applications. © 2024Item Tailoring the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Laser Powder-Directed Energy-Deposited Inconel 625 Using Scan Strategies(Springer, 2025) Aromal, S.S.; Malathesh, P.B.; Thanumoorthy, R.S.; Agasti, S.K.; Praharaj, A.K.; Anil Kumar, V.A.; Sudarshan Rao, G.S.; Bontha, S.The current study is focused on the influence of different scan strategies on the microstructural evolution, crystallographic texture, and mechanical properties of the Inconel 625 (IN625) fabricated using the laser powder-directed energy deposition (LP-DED) process. Prior to the deposition of the bulk specimens, an optimized set of process parameters (laser power (P), scan speed (v), and feed rate (f)) was selected through analysis of single-track deposits. The single tracks were thoroughly analyzed based on the aspect ratio, track stability, dilution, and shape of the melt pool. Further, six rectangular blocks of IN625 with different scan strategies (unidirectional ? 0°, bidirectional ? 0°, 45°, 67°, 90°, and spiral) were fabricated using the optimized process parameters for deposition. Samples with a 0° unidirectional scan strategy exhibited higher yield strength values but lower ductility. Notably, the sample with a scan orientation of 67° exhibited superior isotropic properties that are required to bear intense multi-axial loads when compared to other samples. The results indicated that the sample with a 67° scan orientation has the best combination of both strength and ductility. This can be attributed to finer cells/grains, which occur due to fragmentation of cells/grains during their growth across the successive layers, a higher fraction of low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs), and variation of vector length within a layer. EBSD analysis revealed that samples with a 67° scan orientation exhibited a random crystallographic texture (MUD = 2.2), which suggests isotropic behavior compared to other samples. © ASM International 2025.Item Microstructure - corrosion performance correlation of laser directed energy deposited Inconel 625(Elsevier Ltd, 2025) Praharaj, A.K.; Bontha, S.; Balla, V.K.; Chakrapani, S.K.; Suvin, P.S.The primary objective of the current work is to understand the influence of process parameters on the corrosion performance of laser directed energy deposited Inconel 625 (IN625). In this regard, IN625 bulk samples were deposited using optimized laser power and three different scanning speeds. The as-deposited (AD) samples are named as AD-L, AD-M, and AD-H corresponding to low, medium, and high scanning speeds, respectively. Comprehensive microstructural characterization, microhardness evaluation, and electrochemical corrosion testing (medium: 3.5 wt% NaCl solution) were performed to correlate the process parameters with the microstructural features and corrosion performance. The results revealed that average grain size of the AD-H sample was lowered by 22.8 % and 19 %, respectively than the AD-L and AD-M samples, resulting in an enhancement of 8.4 % and 3.3 % in microhardness. Electrochemical corrosion tests indicated that AD-H sample possessed a higher corrosion potential (Ecorr) and a lower corrosion current density (Icorr) when compared to other samples, confirming the corrosion resistance of the samples in the order of AD-H > AD-M > AD-L. The higher scanning speed resulted in finer grains, high dislocation density, and lowered volume fraction of secondary phases, which are attributed to superior corrosion resistance of the AD-H sample. Surface analysis of the corroded samples suggested a greater susceptibility to localized corrosion over pitting corrosion. The current work provides valuable insights to the correlation between process parameters, microstructure, and corrosion performance of LDED fabricated IN625, confirming notable influence of scanning speed on the corrosion behavior. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.Item A novel NiCrAlY-Cu based bond coat for rocket nozzle applications through LP-DED process(Elsevier Ltd, 2025) Thanumoorthy, R.S.; Vijay, A.; Bontha, S.; Balan, A.S.S.This study explores the development of a novel bond coat for copper-based substrates with the goal of minimizing thermal expansion mismatch and enhancing thermal life in rocket nozzle applications. The effect of copper (Cu) addition on the microstructure, phase evolution, and thermo-mechanical behavior of NiCrAlY clads fabricated via laser powder-directed energy deposition (LP-DED) is systematically investigated to optimize their performance. SEM and elemental mapping reveal a shift from columnar to cellular substructures with Cu additions up to 20 wt%, while higher Cu contents lead to coarse dendritic growth and Cu segregation at grain boundaries, inducing localized strain and crack formation. XRD and DFT analyses indicate that Cu suppresses the ?-NiAl phase and stabilizes the ?-Ni matrix due to its limited solubility in ? and preferential partitioning into ?. High-temperature XRD and EDS analyses show that while pure NiCrAlY forms a continuous alumina scale, Cu-enriched clads develop fragmented and crack-prone thermally grown oxides (TGOs), compromising the oxidation resistance. KAM analysis suggests reduced lattice strain at 10 wt% Cu, followed by increased dislocation density at higher concentrations. Thermal expansion measurements indicate a significant increase in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) at 10 wt% Cu, improving compatibility with Cu-based substrates. However, further Cu additions yield minimal CTE benefits while degrading mechanical strength. Microhardness declines from ?406 Hv (0 % Cu) to ?251 Hv (40 % Cu) due to solid solution softening and ?-phase suppression. A radar plot comparing key metrics identifies 10 wt% Cu as the optimal composition, offering a balanced property set for regeneratively cooled rocket nozzle systems. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.