Role of heterogenous microstructure and deformation behavior in achieving superior strength-ductility synergy in zinc fabricated via laser powder bed fusion

Zinc(Zn)is considered a promising biodegradable metal for implant applications due to its appropriate degradability and favorable osteogenesis properties.In this work,laser powder bed fusion(LPBF)additive manufacturing was employed to fabricate pure Zn with a heterogeneous microstructure and exceptional strength-ductility synergy.An optimized processing window of LPBF was established for printing Zn samples with relative densities greater than 99%using a laser power range of 80∼90 W and a scanning speed of 900 mm s−1.The Zn sample printed with a power of 80 W at a speed of 900 mm s−1 exhibited a hierarchical heterogeneous microstructure consisting of millimeter-scale molten pool boundaries,micrometer-scale bimodal grains,and nanometer-scale pre-existing dislocations,due to rapid cooling rates and significant thermal gradients formed in the molten pools.The printed sample exhibited the highest ductility of∼12.1%among all reported LPBF-printed pure Zn to date with appreciable ultimate tensile strength(∼128.7 MPa).Such superior strength-ductility synergy can be attributed to the presence of multiple deformation mechanisms that are primarily governed by heterogeneous deformation-induced hardening resulting from the alternative arrangement of bimodal Zn grains with pre-existing dislocations.Additionally,continuous strain hardening was facilitated through the interactions between deformation twins,grains and dislocations as strain accumulated,further contributing to the superior strength-ductility synergy.These findings provide valuable insights into the deformation behavior and mechanisms underlying exceptional mechanical properties of LPBF-printed Zn and its alloys for implant applications.

In-situ additive manufacturing of high strength yet ductility titanium composites with gradient layered structure using N_(2)

It has always been challenging work to reconcile the contradiction between the strength and plasticity of titanium materials.Laser powder bed fusion(LPBF) is a convenient method to fabricate innovative composites including those inspired by gradient layered materials.In this work,we used LPBF to selectively prepare Ti N/Ti gradient layered structure(GLSTi)composites by using different N_(2)–Ar ratios during the LPBF process.We systematically investigated the mechanisms of in-situ synthesis Ti N,high strength and ductility of GLSTi composites using microscopic analysis,TEM characterization,and tensile testing with digital image correlation.Besides,a digital correspondence was established between the N_(2) concentration and the volume fraction of LPBF in-situ synthesized Ti N.Our results show that the GLSTi composites exhibit superior mechanical properties compared to pure titanium fabricated by LPBF under pure Ar.Specifically,the tensile strength of GLSTi was more than 1.5times higher than that of LPBF-formed pure titanium,reaching up to 1100 MPa,while maintaining a high elongation at fracture of 17%.GLSTi breaks the bottleneck of high strength but low ductility exhibited by conventional nanoceramic particle-strengthened titanium matrix composites,and the hetero-deformation induced strengthening effect formed by the Ti N/Ti layered structure explained its strength-plasticity balanced principle.The microhardness exhibits a jagged variation of the relatively low hardness of 245 HV0.2 for the pure titanium layer and a high hardness of 408 HV0.2 for the N_(2) in-situ synthesis layer.Our study provides a new concept for the structure-performance digital customization of 3D-printed Ti-based composites.

Review of Underwater Ship Hull Cleaning Technologies

This paper presents a comprehensive review and analysis of ship hull cleaning technologies.Various cleaning methods and devices applied to dry-dock cleaning and underwater cleaning are introduced in detail,including rotary brushes,high-pressure and cavitation water jet technology,ultrasonic technology,and laser cleaning technology.The application of underwater robot technology in ship cleaning not only frees divers from engaging in heavy work but also creates safe and efficient industrial products.Damage to the underlying coating of the ship caused by the underwater cleaning operation can be minimized by optimizing the working process of the underwater cleaning robot.With regard to the adhesion technology mainly used in underwater robots,an overview of recent developments in permanent magnet and electromagnetic adhesion,negative pressure force adhesion,thrust force adhesion,and biologically inspired adhesion is provided.Through the analysis and comparison of current underwater robot products,this paper predicts that major changes in the application of artificial intelligence and multirobot cooperation,as well as optimization and combination of various technologies in underwater cleaning robots,could be expected to further lead to breakthroughs in developing next-generation robots for underwater cleaning.

Two-Layer Path Planner for AUVs Based on the Improved AAF-RRT Algorithm

As autonomous underwater vehicles(AUVs)merely adopt the inductive obstacle avoidance mechanism to avoid collisions with underwater obstacles,path planners for underwater robots should consider the poor search efficiency and inadequate collision-avoidance ability.To overcome these problems,a specific two-player path planner based on an improved algorithm is designed.First,by combing the artificial attractive field(AAF)of artificial potential field(APF)approach with the random rapidly exploring tree(RRT)algorithm,an improved AAF-RRT algorithm with a changing attractive force proportional to the Euler distance between the point to be extended and the goal point is proposed.Second,a twolayer path planner is designed with path smoothing,which combines global planning and local planning.Finally,as verified by the simulations,the improved AAF-RRT algorithm has the strongest searching ability and the ability to cross the narrow passage among the studied three algorithms,which are the basic RRT algorithm,the common AAF-RRT algorithm,and the improved AAF-RRT algorithm.Moreover,the two-layer path planner can plan a global and optimal path for AUVs if a sudden obstacle is added to the simulation environment.

Selective laser melting of NiTi alloy with superior tensile property and shape memory effect

It is a challenge to develop complex-shaped Ni Ti shape memory alloy parts by traditional processing methods, due to the poor machinability of Ni Ti alloy. It is reported that selective laser melting(SLM) of additive manufacturing could overcome this problem. However, the reported SLM-produced Ni Ti exhibits poor tensile ductility due to the inner defects and adverse unidirectional columnar grains from SLM process. In this work, the defect-less SLM-Ni Ti with nondirective columnar grains was fabricated by optimizing the intraformational laser scanning length and interformational laser scanning direction. The obtained lath-shaped SLM-Ni Ti sample exhibits tensile strain of 15.6%, more than twice of the reported maximum result(7%). Besides, the SLM-Ni Ti part with complex geometry displays a shape memory recovery of 99% under compressive deformation of 50%.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AlSi10Mg Alloy Manufactured by Laser Powder Bed Fusion Under Nitrogen and Argon Atmosphere

In order to study the effect of gas atmosphere on forming performance of laser powder bed fusion(LPBF),AlSi10 Mg alloy was prepared by direct forming and in situ laser remelting under the shielding gas of argon and nitrogen in this study,and its micro structure and properties were characterized and tested,respectively.The results show that the forming performance of AlSi10 Mg under nitrogen atmosphere is better than that of argon.Moreover,in situ laser remelting method can effectively enhance the relative density and mechanical properties of AlSi10 Mg,in which the densification is increased to 99.5%.In terms of mechanical properties,after in situ remelting,ultimate tensile strength under argon protection increased from444.85±8.73 to 489.45±3.20 MPa,and that under nitrogen protection increased from 459.21±13.77 to 500.14±5.15 MPa.In addition,the elongation is nearly doubled and the micro-Vickers hardness is increased by 20%.The research results provide a new regulation control method for the customization of AlSi10 Mg properties fabricated by LPBF.