Influence of process parameters and aging treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al Si8Mg3 alloy fabricated by selective laser melting

Many studies have investigated the selective laser melting(SLM)of AlSi10Mg and AlSi7Mg alloys,but there are still lack of researches focused on Al-Si-Mg alloys specifically tailored for SLM.In this work,a novel high Mg-content AlSi8Mg3 alloy was specifically designed for SLM.The results showed that this new alloy exhibited excellent SLM processability with a lowest porosity of 0.07%.Massive lattice distortion led to a high Vickers hardness in samples fabricated at a high laser power due to the precipitation of Mg_(2)Si nanoparticles from theα-Al matrix induced by high-intensity intrinsic heat treatment during SLM.The maximum microhardness and compressive yield strength of the alloy reached HV(211±4)and(526±12)MPa,respectively.After aging treatment at 150℃,the maximum microhardness and compressive yield strength of the samples were further improved to HV(221±4)and(577±5)MPa,respectively.These values are higher than those of most known aluminum alloys fabricated by SLM.This paper provides a new idea for optimizing the mechanical properties of Al-Si-Mg alloys fabricated using SLM.

Microstructure,mechanical properties and corrosion performance of selective laser melting Ti/GNPs composite with a porous structure

In this study,nano-graphene reinforced titanium matrix composites(GNPs/Ti)with a honeycomb porous structure were fabricated by selective laser melting(SLM).The effects of graphene on the microstructure,mechanical properties and corrosion performance of the SLM GNPs/Ti were systematically investigated.Results of microstructure characterization show that:1)the density of the SLM GNPs/Ti was improved as compared to that of the SLM Ti;2)abundant TiC particles were formed in the SLM GNPs/Ti.The hardness and compressive strength of the composite increased by 90%(from HV 236 to HV 503)and 14%(from 277 MPa to 316 MPa),respectively,attributed to the uniformly distributed TiC and fine GNPs in the Ti matrix.Electrochemical tests reveal that the corrosion current density of the SLM GNPs/Ti is only 0.328μA/cm^(2),that is about 25%less than that of the SLM Ti.The results indicate that the incorporation of nano-graphene is a potential method to strengthen the Ti by SLM.

Microstructures,Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Pure Tungsten—A Comparison Between Selective Laser Melting and Hot Rolling

A comparative study on the influence of different manufacturing methods(selective laser melting and hot rolling)on the microstructure,mechanical and thermal behaviours of tungsten(W)was presented for the first time.The results indicated that the selective laser melting(SLM)W exhibited a finer grain sizes,a lower strength ductility,hardness and thermal conductivity compared to hot-rolled W.The main reason for this result was that the laser underwent rapid heating and cooling when it was used to melt W powder with high energy density,resulting in large internal stress in the sample after manufacturing.Subsequently,the internal stress was released,leading to the generation of microcracks at the grain boundaries,thereby affecting the performance of SLM W samples.In addition,the higher fraction of high-angle grain boundaries(HAGBs)of SLM W was found to be the key factor for intrinsic brittleness.Because the HAGBs are the preferred crack paths,which could promote crack propagation and decrease fracture energy.

Microstructure,Properties and Crack Suppression Mechanism of High-speed Steel Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting at Different Process Parameters

To enrich material types applied to additive manufacturing and enlarge application scope of additive manufacturing in conformal cooling tools,M2 high-speed steel specimens were fabricated by selective laser melting(SLM).Effects of SLM parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of M2 high-speed steel were investigated.The results showed that substrate temperature and energy density had significant influence on the densification process of materials and defects control.Models to evaluate the effect of substrate temperature and energy density on hardness were studied.The optimized process parameters,laser power,scan speed,scan distance,and substrate temperature,for fabricated M2 are 220 W,960 mm/s,0.06 mm,and 200℃,respectively.Based on this,the hardness and tensile strength reached 60 HRC and 1000 MPa,respectively.Interlaminar crack formation and suppression mechanism and the relationship between temperature gradient and thermal stress were illustrated.The inhibition effect of substrate temperature on the cracks generated by residual stresses was also explained.AM showed great application potential in the field of special conformal cooling cutting tool preparation.

Influence of hot isostatic pressing on microstructure,properties and deformability of selective laser melting TC4 alloy

The influence of different hot isostatic pressing regimes on microstructure,phase constitution,microhardness,tensile properties and deformability of TC4 alloy fabricated by selective laser melting(SLM)technology was studied.The results show that the microstructure of SLM TC4 alloy is composed of acicular martensiteα’phase,and the sample exhibits high microhardness and strength,but low plasticity.After hot isostatic pressing,acicular martensiteα’phase transforms intoα+βphase,and with the increase of hot isostatic pressing temperature and duration,αphase with coarse lath is gradually refined,and the proportion ofαphase is gradually reduced.Because of the change of phase constitution in SLM TC4 alloy after hot isostatic pressing,the grain refinement strengthening is weakened,the density of dislocation is reduced,so that both microhardness and tensile strength are decreased by around 20%,the elongation is increased by more than about 70%,even over 100%,compared with as-deposited TC4 alloy.When the hot isostatic pressing regime is 940°C/3 h/150 MPa,the tensile strength and the elongation achieve optimal match,which are about890 MPa and around 14.0%in both directions.The fracture mechanism of alloy after 940 oC/3 h/150 MPa HIP is dultile fracture.Hot isostatic pressing causes concave deformation of SLM TC4 alloy thin-walled frames,and the deformation degree increases with the increase of temperature.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of FeCoNiCrAl x High-entropy Alloys by Selective Laser Melting

In this study,the thermal analysis theory of selective laser melting(SLM)was introduced,and different high-entropy alloy(HEA)specimens were prepared using the SLM technology.The effects of different powder sizes,elemental contents,and process parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of FeCoNiCrAl x HEA specimens fabricated using SLM were analyzed.Moreover,hardness and tensile tests of these high-entropy alloys were performed.The results showed that with increasing laser power and hatch spacing,the hardness of the specimens initially increased and subsequently decreased;it also increased with increasing scanning speed.The FeCoNiCrAl 0.5 HEA specimens prepared using fine powder exhibited better tensile properties,followed by FeCoNiCrAl 0.8 HEA.However,the FeCoNiCrAl 0.5 HEA prepared using coarse powder exhibited the poorest tensile properties.A comparison of the tensile properties of the specimens at different heights revealed that the specimens formed at the middle height exhibited improved tensile properties.

Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of the TiC/CM247LC Nickel-Based Composite Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting:Effect of Heat Treatment

In this study,TiC/CM247LC nickel-based composite was successfully prepared by selective laser melting,then was heat treated at a solid solution temperature of 1260℃and different aging temperature of 840℃,870℃,900℃and 930℃respectively.Effects of aging temperatures on the microstructures and mechanical properties were systematically studied.The results show that the microstructures of all the heat treated samples are composed ofγmatrix,carbides andγ′phase.Theγgrains remain a columnar shape after treatments,but the size ofγ′phase grows up gradually with the increasing aging temperature.The composite treated at an aging temperature of 870℃exhibits the best mechanical properties with the tensile strength of 1073 MPa,yield strength of 1004 MPa and elongation of 7.57%.The plastic deformation and strengthening mechanisms of heat treated composite were systematically investigated.

Microstructure and properties of AlSi7Mg alloy fabricated by selective laser melting

The AlSi7Mg alloy was fabricated by selective laser melting(SLM),and its microstructure and properties at different building directions after heat treatment were analyzed.Results show that the microstructure of SLM AlSi7Mg samples containes three zones:fine grain zone,coarse grain zone,and heat affected zone.The fine-grain regions locate inside the molten pool,and the grains are equiaxed.The coarse-grain regions locate in the overlap of molten pools.After T6 treatment,the microstructure at the molten pool boundary is still the network eutectic Si,but the network structure becomes discrete,and is composed of intermittent,chain-like eutectic Si particles.The yield strength at three directions(xy,45°,z direction)of the AlSi7Mg alloy samples fabricated by SLM is improved after T6 heat treatment.The fracture mechanism of the samples is a mixed ductile and brittle fracture before heat treatment and ductile fracture after heat treatment.

Tensile behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy fabricated by selective laser melting: effects of microstructures and as-built surface quality

Selective laser melting （SLM） is a powerful additive manufacturing （AM） technology, of which the most prominent advantage is the ability to produce components with a complex geometry. The service performances of the SLM-processed components depend on the microstructure and surface quality. In this work, the microstructures, mechanical properties, and fracture behaviors of SLM-processed Ti-6AI-4V alloy under machined and as-built surfaces after annealing treatments and hot isostatic pressing （HIP） were investigated. The microstructures were analyzed by optical microscope （OM）, scanning electron microscope （SEM） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The mechanical properties were measured by tensile testing at room temperature. The results indicate that the as-deposited microstructures are characterized by columnar grains and fine brittle martensite and the as- deposited properties present high strength, low ductility and obvious anisotropy. After annealing at 800-900~C for 2-4 h and HIP at 920~C/100MPa for 2 h, the brittle martensite could be transformed into ductile lamellar （a＋~） microstructure and the static tensile properties of SLM-processed Ti-6AI-4V alloys in the machined condition could be comparable to that of wrought materials. Even after HIP treatment, the as-built surfaces could decrease the ductility and reduction of area of SLM-processed fi-6AI-4V alloys to 9.2% and 20%, respectively. The crack initiation could occur at the columnar grain boundaries or at the as-built surfaces. The lamellar （a＋13） microstructures and columnar grains could hinder or distort the crack propagation path during tensile tests.

Enhanced mechanical properties and formability of 316L stainless steel materials 3D-printed using selective laser melting

This study is conducted to develop an innovative and attractive selective laser melting(SLM)method to produce 316 L stainless steel materials with excellent mechanical performance and complex part shape.In this work,the subregional manufacturing strategy,which separates the special parts from the components using an optimized process,was proposed.The results showed that produced 316 L materials exhibited superior strength of^755 MPa and good ductility.In the as-built parts,austenite with preferred orientation of the(220)plane,δ-ferrite,and a small amount of CrO phases were present.In addition,the crystal size was fine,which contributed to the enhancement of the parts’mechanical properties.The structural anisotropy mechanism of the materials was also investigated for a group of half-sized samples with variable inclination directions.This technique was used to fabricate a set of impellers with helical bevels and high-precision planetary gears,demonstrating its strong potential for use in practical applications.

Role of processing parameters on relative density,microstructure and mechanical properties of selective laser melted titanium alloy

The relationships between the selective laser melting(SLM)processing parameters including laser power,scanning speed and hatch space,the relative density,the microstructure,and resulting mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-2Zr-1Mo-1V alloy were investigated in this work.The result shows that laser power acts a dominant role in determining the relative density in comparison with scanning speed and hatch space.The optimal SLM process window for fabricating relative density>99%samples is located in the energy density range of 34.72 J·mm^(-3)to 52.08 J·mm^(-3),where the laser power range is between 125 W and 175 W.An upward trend is found in the micro-hardness as the energy density is increased.The optimum SLM processing parameters of Ti-6Al-2Zr-1Mo-1V alloy are:laser power of 150 W,scanning speed of 1,600 mm·s^(-1),hatch space of 0.08 mm,and layer thickness of 0.03 mm.The highest ultimate tensile strength,yield strength,and ductility under the optimum processing parameter are achieved,which are 1,205 MPa,1,099 MPa,and 8%,respectively.The results of this study can be used to guide SLM production Ti-6Al-2Zr-1Mo-1V alloy parts.

Influence Mechanism of Process Parameters on Relative Density, Influence Mechanism of Process Parameters on Relative Density, Microstructure, and Mechanical Properties of Low Sc-Content Al-Mg-Sc-Zr Alloy Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting

Additive manufacturing of Al-Mg-Sc-Zr alloys is a promising technique for the fabrication of lightweight components with complex shapes.In this study,the effect of the process parameters of selective laser melting(SLM)on the surface morphology,relative density,microstructure,and mechanical properties of Al-Mg-Sc-Zr high-strength aluminum alloys with low Sc content was systematically investigated.The results show that the energy density has an important effect on the surface quality and densification behavior of the Al-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy during the SLM process.As the energy density increased,the surface quality and the number of internal pores increased.However,the area of the fine-grained region at the boundary of the molten pool gradually decreased.When the laser energy density was set to 151.52 J/mm3,a low-defect sample with a relative density of 99.2%was obtained.After heat treatment,the area of the fine grains at the boundary increased significantly,thereby contributing to the excellent mechanical properties.The microstructure was characterized by a unique“fan-shaped”heterogeneous structure.As the energy density increased,the microhardness first increased and then decreased,reaching a maximum value of 122 HV0.3.With the optimized process parameters,the yield strength(YS),ultimate tensile strength(UTS),and elongation of the as-built Al-Mg-Sc-Zr alloys were 346.8±3.0 MPa,451.1±5.2 MPa,14.6%±0.8%,respectively.After heat treatment at 325°C for 8 h,the hardness increased by 38.5%to 169 HV0.3,and the YS and UTS increased by 41.3%and 18.1%,respectively,to 490.0±9.0 MPa and 532.7±7.8 MPa,respectively,while the elongation slightly decreased to 13.1%±0.7%.

Influence of post-heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Cu-Mg-Zr alloy manufactured by selective laser melting

The properties of modified conventional wrought aluminum alloys cannot be significantly enhanced by normal post-heat treatment in that the fine-grained strengthening,arising from high cooling rate in SLM,is underutilized.In this work,compared with the normal T6 heat treatment,a novel simple direct aging regime was proposed to maintain the grain-boundary strengthening and to utilize the precipitation strengthening of secondary AlZr.It was found that a heterogeneous grain structure,which consisted of ultrafine equiaxed(~0.82μm)and columnar(~1.80μm)grains at the bottom and top of molten pool,respectively,was formed in the SLM processed sample.After direct aging(DA),the ultrafine grains were maintained and a mass of spherical coherent L1-AlZr particles with a mean radius of approximately1.15 nm was precipitated.In contrast,after solution treatment and aging(STA),a significant grain coarsening occurred in the equiaxed grain region.Meanwhile,the coarsening L1-AlZr particles,nano-sized S phases and GPB zones were detected in the STA sample.This subsequently induced that the yield strength of the DA sample(~435 MPa)was higher than that of the STA sample(~402 MPa)owing to the grain boundary strengthening and precipitation strengthening.Both the STA and DA samples exhibited a higher strength than that of the other SLMed Al-Cu-Mg series alloys;this was comparable to that of the wrought AA2024-T6 alloy(~393 MPa).Both the STA and DA samples exhibited a higher strength than that of the other SLMed Al-Cu-Mg series alloys;this was comparable to that of the wrought AA2024-T6alloy(~393 MPa).

Selective Laser Melting of Al-7Si-0.5Mg-0.5Cu:Effect of Heat Treatment on Microstructure Evolution,Mechanical Properties and Wear Resistance

Al-7Si-0.5Mg-0.5Cu alloy specimens have been fabricated by selective laser melting(SLM).In this study,the effects of solution treatment,quenching,and artifi cial aging on the microstructural evolution,as well as mechanical and wear properties,have been investigated.The as-prepared samples show a heterogeneous cellular microstructure with two different cell sizes composed ofα-Al and Si phases.After solution-treated and quenched(SQ)heat treatment,the cellular microstructure disappears,and coarse and lumpy Si phase precipitates and a rectangular Cu-rich phase were observed.Subsequent aging after solution-treated and quenched(SQA)heat treatment causes the formation of nanosized Cu-rich precipitates.The asprepared SLMs sample has good mechanical properties and wear resistance(compressive yield strength:215±6 MPa and wear rate 2×10^(-13)m^(3)/m).The SQ samples with lumpy Si particles have the lowest strength of 167±13 MPa and the highest wear rate of 6.18×10^(1-13)m^(3)/m.The formation of nanosized Cu-rich precipitates in the SQA samples leads to the highest compressive yield strength of 233±6 MPa and a good wear rate of 5.06×10^(-13)m^(3)/m.

Tailorable microstructure and mechanical properties of selective laser melted TiB/Ti-6Al-4V composite by heat treatment

This paper systematically investigated the effect of solution and artificial aging heat treatments on the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of TiB/Ti-6Al-4V composites in situ fabricated by selective laser melting.The results showed that the fully martensite microstructure with TiB clusters of the as-built samples was transformed into lamellarα+βmicrostructure with TiB strips after solution heat treatment.With increasing the temperature,theαlaths and TiB particles coarsened and theβvolume fraction increased.After aging heat treatment,βvolume fraction decreased and TiB had no obvious changes.A superior combination of the yield strength of(1146.8±28.2)MPa and even higher plasticity and ultimate compressive strength((1680.1±18.3)MPa)than the as-built ones was obtained by solution heat treatment at 1000℃+water quenching and aging at 600℃for 6 hþair cooling.

Anisotropy of microstructures and mechanical properties in FeCoNiCr_(0.5)high-entropy alloy prepared via selective laser melting

The anisotropy of microstructures and mechani-cal properties of FeCoNiCr_(0.5)high-entropy alloys(HEAs)prepared by selective laser melting(SLM)were investigated in this study.An anisotropic microstructure was obtained for the as-built FeCoNiCr_(0.5) HEA sample.Specifically,in the XOY plane(perpendicular to the building direction),the{110}texture is dominant,and the grain size is mostly between 40 and 60μm with equiaxial morphology.In the XOZ plane(parallel to the building direction),columnar grains have a length of 80-100μm,and there is no obvious preferred orientation in the structure.This structure leads to anisotropic tensile behavior in the sample where the yield strength,tensile strength,and elongation of FeCoNiCr_(0.5)HEA in the XOY plane are 528 MPa,546 MPa,and 49%,respectively,whereas those in the XOZ plane are 547 MPa,642 MPa,and 28%,respectively.The effect of deformation twins on the evolution of the work-hardening rate is also discussed,considering the anisotropy condition.

Microstructure,mechanical properties and multiphase synergistic strengthening mechanisms of a novel laser additive manufactured AlNi6TiZr alloy

In this work,selective laser melting(SLM)process is used to prepare the AlNi6TiZr alloy.By analyzing the printing quality and mechanical properties of the printed specimens with different process parameters,the SLM forming window of AlNi6TiZr is obtained.The relative density of the sample printed with 270 W-1100 mm/s(laser energy density:82 J/mm3)reaches 99.7%,exhibiting excellent mechanical properties(yield strength(YS):421.7 MPa;ultimate tensile strength(UTS):480.4 MPa).After an aging treatment of 325 ℃-12 h,the YS and UTS of the sample increased to 494 MPa and 550.7 MPa,respectively.Adding Ni,Ti,and Zr components promoted the generation of multi-phase precipitates in the Al alloy and improved the synergistic strengthening effect of multi-phases.The hard-shell structure(HSS)formed by the Al_(3)Ni phase at the grain boundary significantly strengthened the grain boundary strength.The precipitated Al_(3)(Ti,Zr)phases at the grain boundaries prevent grain growth and dislocation movement.The Al_(3)Ni and Al_(3)(Ti,Zr)phases have good thermal stability that can still maintain excellent enhancement effects at high temperature.AlNi6TiZr alloy has great application prospects in medium and high-temperature environments.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-12Si and Al-3.5Cu-1.5Mg-1Si bimetal fabricated by selective laser melting

An Al-12 Si/Al-3.5 Cu-1.5 Mg-1 Si bimetal with a good interface was successfully produced by selective laser melting(SLM).The SLM bimetal exhibits four successive zones along the building direction:an Al-12 Si zone,an interfacial zone,a texture-strengthening zone and an Al-Cu-Mg-Si zone.The interfacial zone(<0.2 mm thick)displays an increasing size of the cells composed of eutectic Al-Si and a discontinuous cellular microstructure,resulting in the lowest hardness of the four zones.The texturestrengthening zone(around 0.3 mm thick)shows a remarkable variation of the hardness and<001>fiber texture.Electron backscatter diffraction analysis shows that the grains grow gradually from the interfacial zone to the Al-Cu-Mg-Si zone along the building direction.Additionally,a strong<001>fiber texture develops at the Al-Cu-Mg-Si side of the interfacial zone and disappears gradually along the building direction.The bimetal exhibits a room temperature yield strength of 267±10 MPa and an ultimate tensile strength of 369±15 MPa with elongation of 2.6±0.1%,revealing the potential of selective laser melting in manufacturing dissimilar materials.

Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of selective laser melted Ti-6Al-4V induced by annealing treatment

Ti-6Al-4V specimens were fabricated by selective laser melting(SLM)to study the effect of thermal treatment on the phase transformation,elemental diffusion,microstructure,and mechanical properties.The results show that vanadium enriches around the boundary ofαphases with increasing annealing temperature to 973 K,andα′phases transform intoα+βat 973 K.The typicalα′martensite microstructure transforms to fine-scale equiaxed microstructure at 973 K and the equiaxed microstructure significantly coarsens with increasing annealing temperature to 1273 K.The SLM Ti-6Al-4V alloy annealed at 973 K exhibits a well-balanced combination of strength and ductility((1305±25)MPa and(37±3)%,respectively).

Selective Laser Melting of 30CrMnSiA Steel: Laser Energy Density Dependence of Microstructural and Mechanical Properties

Three-dimensional parts of the 30 CrMnSiA steel were successfully fabricated using selective laser melting（SLM）. The microstructures and mechanical properties of the SLM-processed 30 CrMnSiA samples were investigated by scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicate that the microstructures of the 30 CrMnSiA samples consist mainly of lath martensite and acicular martensite. The value of the surface roughness decreases with increasing laser energy density（LED） before it reaches a minimum and then increases with further increasing LED. The relative density, microhardness and ultimate tensile strength of the SLM-processed samples initially increase and then decrease with increasing LED. By taking the relative density, surface roughness, microhardness and ultimate tensile strength into account, the optimized LED should be in the range of 46.15–51.28 J mm^（-3） for the SLM-processed30 CrMnSiA alloys. In addition, the differences in the microstructures and mechanical properties between the conventionally wrought 30 CrMnSiA sample and SLM-processed 30 CrMnSiA samples were also studied.