Processing metallic materials by additive technologies - Specificities of the thermal history and microstructures

Additives technologies currently attract a growing interest as they are particularly versatile and well adapted for the production of small series e.g. of metallic parts. Beyond the great diversity of the concerned processes (laser beam melting, electron beam melting, laser cladding…) and metallic alloys, some common features may be highlighted: (1) the strong directionality of additive processes, due to the fact that parts are fabricated “layer-by-layer”; (2) the ultra-fast heating and cooling cycles, following the displacement of the beam(s) away from the working zone. The present paper aims at illustrating these two major features of additive techniques through case studies involving the most common metallic alloys (steels, Al- or Ti-based alloys…), thus highlighting the opportunities pertaining to additive technologies for the optimisation of materials microstructures and of the resulting properties.