Abstract
17-4 precipitation hardenable stainless steel is a commonly used alloy for a wide range of industrial applications, making it a valuable addition to the additive manufacturing sphere. In order to confidently use 17-4PH as an AM feedstock, its behaviour must be understood under the wide range of thermal conditions and rapid solidification rates characteristic of AM processes. As a first step in creating that understanding, cooling rates were measured experimentally during the wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) process as well as verified using an ABAQUS model. This work also creates a microstructure map over a range of cooling rates for 17-4PH rapidly solidified, single-layer WAAM deposits. This microstructure map outlines the various microstructures obtained under different velocities of the solidification front and the inverse temperature gradient. Such a map is aimed for use in developing a digital database of the process-structure-property relationship for this alloy.