Investigations of powder reusing on microstructure and mechanical properties of Inconel 718 obtained by additive manufacturing

Abstract Laser powder bed fusion, largely employed for additive manufacturing, induces after each batch a large quantity of remaining powder. This study focuses on the possibility to reuse this remaining powder after a large number of production cycles and on the influence of such reusing on the microstructure and mechanical properties. Inconel 718 parts made from fresh and 50 times reused powder were processed and then characterized in the as-built state. The effect of powder reuse on the microstructure was assessed thanks to a multiscale study and the resulting mechanical response was evaluated using both monotonous and cyclic tests. Our results clearly show that despite a better powder flowability for the reused powder, only minor differences between the two investigated materials demonstrating the possibility of high-quality parts production from reused powders.