Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Thin-walled Components of 2Cr13 Stainless Steel Fabricated by MIG Arc Additive Manufacturing

ZHU Qiang; YAN Yaojing; HAN Ke; LIAN Hongbin; CHEN Mayuan; MA Jianguo

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.01.009

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Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (1) : 87-95. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.01.009

Additive Manufacturing

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Thin-walled Components of 2Cr13 Stainless Steel Fabricated by MIG Arc Additive Manufacturing

ZHU Qiang^1a, YAN Yaojing^1a, HAN Ke^1a,*, LIAN Hongbin^1a, CHEN Mayuan^1b, MA Jianguo^2,3,4

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Abstract

The work aims to investigate the effects of heat input on forming quality, microstructure, and mechanical properties of thin-walled components during arc wire additive manufacturing. Three groups of 2Cr13 thin-walled components were fabricated with MIG arc wire additive manufacturing (WAAM) technology under different heat inputs and the forming quality, microstructure, hardness, and tensile properties of the deposited samples were investigated. The thin-walled components fabricated based on MIG arc additive manufacturing technology exhibited good forming quality. When the heat input was 379 J/mm, the forming efficiency of the sample reached 90.85%. Significant microstructural variations along the height direction were observed due to differential heat dissipation and thermal accumulation during continuous deposition. In initial deposition stages with limited thermal accumulation, the microstructure primarily consisted of tempered lath martensite. As deposition height increased, intensified thermal accumulation promoted grain evolution into coarse columnar crystals growing along the deposition direction, containing dense fine needle-like martensite. This microstructural heterogeneity induced gradient mechanical properties: hardness and transverse tensile strength increased along the deposition direction while plasticity decreased correspondingly. The study demonstrates that higher heat input not only reduces forming quality but also exacerbates thermal accumulation, expanding coarse columnar crystal regions and diminishing the advantages of improved deposition efficiency. Therefore, lower heat input parameters should be prioritized to effectively control thermal accumulation and optimize component microstructure and performance.

Key words

arc additive manufacturing / microstructure / 2Cr13 stainless steel / heat accumulation / mechanical property

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ZHU Qiang, YAN Yaojing, HAN Ke, LIAN Hongbin, CHEN Mayuan, MA Jianguo. Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Thin-walled Components of 2Cr13 Stainless Steel Fabricated by MIG Arc Additive Manufacturing[J]. Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering. 2026, 18(1): 87-95 https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.01.009

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