Alloy design for laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing:a critical review

Metal additive manufacturing(AM)has been extensively studied in recent decades.Despite the significant progress achieved in manufacturing complex shapes and structures,challenges such as severe cracking when using existing alloys for laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)AM have persisted.These challenges arise because commercial alloys are primarily designed for conventional casting or forging processes,overlooking the fast cooling rates,steep temperature gradients and multiple thermal cycles of L-PBF.To address this,there is an urgent need to develop novel alloys specifically tailored for L-PBF technologies.This review provides a comprehensive summary of the strategies employed in alloy design for L-PBF.It aims to guide future research on designing novel alloys dedicated to L-PBF instead of adapting existing alloys.The review begins by discussing the features of the L-PBF processes,focusing on rapid solidification and intrinsic heat treatment.Next,the printability of the four main existing alloys(Fe-,Ni-,Al-and Ti-based alloys)is critically assessed,with a comparison of their conventional weldability.It was found that the weldability criteria are not always applicable in estimating printability.Furthermore,the review presents recent advances in alloy development and associated strategies,categorizing them into crack mitigation-oriented,microstructure manipulation-oriented and machine learning-assisted approaches.Lastly,an outlook and suggestions are given to highlight the issues that need to be addressed in future work.

Design of low-alloying and high-performance solid solution-strengthened copper alloys with element substitution for sustainable development

Solid solution-strengthened copper alloys have the advantages of a simple composition and manufacturing process,high mechanical and electrical comprehensive performances,and low cost;thus,they are widely used in high-speed rail contact wires,electronic component connectors,and other devices.Overcoming the contradiction between low alloying and high performance is an important challenge in the development of solid solution-strengthened copper alloys.Taking the typical solid solution-strengthened alloy Cu-4Zn-1Sn as the research object,we proposed using the element In to replace Zn and Sn to achieve low alloying in this work.Two new alloys,Cu-1.5Zn-1Sn-0.4In and Cu-1.5Zn-0.9Sn-0.6In,were designed and prepared.The total weight percentage content of alloying elements decreased by 43%and 41%,respectively,while the product of ultimate tensile strength(UTS)and electrical conductivity(EC)of the annealed state increased by 14%and 15%.After cold rolling with a 90%reduction,the UTS of the two new alloys reached 576 and 627MPa,respectively,the EC was 44.9%IACS and 42.0%IACS,and the product of UTS and EC(UTS×EC)was 97%and 99%higher than that of the annealed state alloy.The dislocations proliferated greatly in cold-rolled alloys,and the strengthening effects of dislocations reached 332 and 356 MPa,respectively,which is the main reason for the considerable improvement in mechanical properties.

Effect of strain rate on the compressive deformation behaviors of lotus-type porous copper

Lotus-type porous copper was fabricated by unidirectional solidification, and compressive experiments were subsequently conducted in the strain rate range of 10-3-2400 s-1 with the compressive direction parallel to the pores. A GLEEBLE-1500 thermal-mechanical simulation system and a split Hopkinson pressure bar （SHPB） were used to investigate the effect of strain rate on the compressive deforma-tion behaviors of lotus-type porous copper. The influence mechanism of strain rate was also analyzed by the strain-controlling method and by high-speed photography. The results indicated that the stress-strain curves of lotus-typed porous copper consist of a linear elastic stage, a plateau stage, and a densification stage at various strain rates. At low strain rate （〈1.0 s^-1）, the strain rate had little influence on the stress-strain curves; but when the strain rate exceeded 1.0 s^-1, it was observed to strongly affect the plateau stage, showing obvious strain-rate-hardening characteristics. Strain rate also influenced the densification initial strain. The densification initial strain at high strain rate was less than that at low strain rate. No visible inhomogeneous deformation caused by shockwaves was observed in lotus-type porous copper during high-strain-rate deformation. However, at high strain rate, the bending deformation characteristics of the pore walls obviously differed from those at low strain rate, which was the main mechanism by which the plateau stress exhibited strain-rate sensitivity when the strain rate exceeded a certain value and exhibited less densification initial strain at high strain rate.

Rapid design of secondary deformation-aging parameters for ultra-low Co content Cu-Ni-Co-Si-X alloy via Bayesian optimization machine learning

It is difficult to rapidly design the process parameters of copper alloys by using the traditional trial-and-error method and simultaneously improve the conflicting mechanical and electrical properties.The purpose of this work is to develop a new type of Cu-Ni-Co-Si alloy saving scarce and expensive Co element,in which the Co content is less than half of the lower limit in ASTM standard C70350 alloy,while the properties are as the same level as C70350 alloy.Here we adopted a strategy combining Bayesian optimization machine learning and experimental iteration and quickly designed the secondary deformation-aging parameters(cold rolling deformation 90%,aging temperature 450℃,and aging time 1.25 h)of the new copper alloy with only 32 experiments(27 basic sample data acquisition experiments and 5 iteration experiments),which broke through the barrier of low efficiency and high cost of trial-and-error design of deformation-aging parameters in precipitation strengthened copper alloy.The experimental hardness,tensile strength,and electrical conductivity of the new copper alloy are HV(285±4),(872±3)MPa,and(44.2±0.7)%IACS(international annealed copper standard),reaching the property level of the commercial lead frame C70350 alloy.This work provides a new idea for the rapid design of material process parameters and the simultaneous improvement of mechanical and electrical properties.

Hot compressive deformation of eutectic Al-17at%Cu alloy on the interface of the Cu-Al composite plate produced by horizontal continuous casting

On the interface of the Cu-Al composite plate from horizontal continuous casting,the eutectic microstructure layer thickness ac-counts for more than 90%of the total interface thickness,and the deformation in rolling forming plays an important role in the quality of the composite plate.The eutectic microstructure material on the interface of the Cu-Al composite plate was prepared by changing the cooling rate of ingot solidification and the deformation in hot compression was investigated.The results show that when the deformation temperature is over 300℃,the softening effect of dynamic recrystallization ofα-Al is greater than the hardening effect,and uniform plastic deformation of eutectic microstructure is caused.The constitutive equation of flow stress in the eutectic microstructure layer was established by Arrhenius hy-perbolic-sine mathematics model,providing a reliable theoretical basis for the deformation of the Cu-Al composite plate.

Effect of Ti and Ta content on the oxidation resistance of Co-Ni-based superalloys

Co-Ni-based superalloys are known for their capability to function at elevated temperatures and superior hot corrosion and thermal fatigue resistance.Therefore,these alloys show potential as crucial high-temperature structural materials for aeroengine and gas turbine hot-end components.Our previous work elucidated the influence of Ti and Ta on the high-temperature mechanical properties of alloys.However,the intricate interaction among elements considerably affects the oxidation resistance of alloys.In this paper,Co-35Ni-10Al-2W-5Cr-2Mo-1Nb-xTi-(5−x)Ta alloys(x=1,2,3,4)with varying Ti and Ta contents were designed and compounded,and their oxidation resistance was investigated at the temperature range from 800 to 1000℃.After oxidation at three test conditions,namely,800℃for 200 h,900℃for 200 h,and 1000℃for 50 h,the main structure of the oxide layer of the alloy consisted of spinel,Cr_(2)O_(3),and Al_(2)O_(3)from outside to inside.Oxides consisting of Ta,W,and Mo formed below the Cr_(2)O_(3)layer.The interaction of Ti and Ta imparted the highest oxidation resistance to 3Ti2Ta alloy.Conversely,an excessive amount of Ti or Ta resulted in an adverse effect on the oxidation resistance of the alloys.This study reports the volatilization of W and Mo oxides during the oxidation process of Co-Ni-based cast superalloys with a high Al content for the first time and explains the formation mechanism of holes in the oxide layer.The results provide a basis for gaining insights into the effects of the interaction of alloying elements on the oxidation resistance of the alloys they form.

Liquid-solid interface control of BFe10-1-1 cupronickel alloy tubes during HCCM horizontal continuous casting and its effect on the microstructure and properties

Based on horizontal continuous casting with a heating-cooling combined mold （HCCM） technology, this article investigated the effects of processing parameters on the liquid-solid interface （LSI） position and the influence of LSI position on the surface quality, microstructure, texture, and mechanical properties of a BFe10-1-1 tube （φ50 mm × 5 mm）. HCCM efficiently improves the temperature gradient in front of the LSI. Through controlling the LSI position, the radial columnar-grained microstructure that is commonly generated by cooling mold casting can be eliminated, and the axial columnar-grained microstructure can be obtained. Under the condition of 1250℃ melting and holding temperature, 1200-1250℃ mold heating temperature, 50-80 mm/min mean drawing speed, and 500-700 L/h cooling water flow rate, the LSI position is located at the middle of the transition zone or near the entrance of the cooling section, and the as-cast tube not only has a strong axial columnar-grained microstructure （{hkl}〈621〉, {hkl}〈221〉） due to strong axial heating conduction during solidification but also has smooth internal and external surfaces without cracks, scratches, and other macroscopic defects due to short solidified shell length and short contact length between the tube and the mold at high temperature. The elongation and tensile strength of the tube are 46.0%-47.2% and 210-221 MPa, respectively, which can be directly used for the subsequent cold-large-strain processing.

Recent progress in the machine learning-assisted rational design of alloys

Alloys designed with the traditional trial and error method have encountered several problems,such as long trial cycles and high costs.The rapid development of big data and artificial intelligence provides a new path for the efficient development of metallic materials,that is,machine learning-assisted design.In this paper,the basic strategy for the machine learning-assisted rational design of alloys was introduced.Research progress in the property-oriented reversal design of alloy composition,the screening design of alloy composition based on models established using element physical and chemical features or microstructure factors,and the optimal design of alloy composition and process parameters based on iterative feedback optimization was reviewed.Results showed the great advantages of machine learning,including high efficiency and low cost.Future development trends for the machine learning-assisted rational design of alloys were also discussed.Interpretable modeling,integrated modeling,high-throughput combination,multi-objective optimization,and innovative platform building were suggested as fields of great interest.

Amorphous magnetic semiconductors with Curie temperatures above room temperature

Recently, amorphous magnetic semiconductors as a new family of magnetic semiconductors have been developed by oxidizing ferromagnetic amorphous metals/alloys. Intriguingly, tuning the relative atomic ratios of Co and Fe in a Co-Fe-Ta-B-O system leads to the formation of an intrinsic magnetic semiconductor. Starting from high Curie-temperature amorphous ferromagnets, these amorphous magnetic semiconductors show Curie temperatures well above room temperature. Among them, one typical example is a p-type Co28.6Fe12.4Ta4.3B8.7O46 magnetic semiconductor, which has an optical bandgap of ~2.4 eV, roomtemperature saturation magnetization of ~433 emu/cm3, and the Curie temperature above 600 K. The amorphous Co28.6Fe12.4Ta4.3B8.7O46 magnetic semiconductor can be integrated with n-type Si to form p-n heterojunctions with a threshold voltage of ~1.6 V, validating its p-type semiconducting character. Furthermore, the demonstration of electric field control of its room-temperature ferromagnetism reflects the interplay between the electricity and ferromagnetism in this material. It is suggested that the carrier density, ferromagnetism and conduction type of an intrinsic magnetic semiconductor are controllable by means of an electric field effect. These findings may pave a new way to realize magnetic semiconductor-based spintronic devices that work at room temperature.

Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Cu-0.36Be-0.46Co alloy fabricated by heating-cooling combined mold horizontal continuous casting during cold rolling

Cu-0.36 wt.%Be-0.46 wt.%Co alloy plate with 300 mm in width and 10 mm in thickness prepared by heating-cooling combined mold(HCCM) horizontal continuous casting was cold rolled. Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the alloy as well as its deformation mechanism were investigated. The results showed that the as-cast alloy plate had columnar grains along the length direction, good surface quality and elongation of 35%, which was directly large-reduction cold rolled without surface treatment, and the accumulative cold rolling reduction reached 98%. When the reduction was small(20%), numerous dislocations and dislocation cells formed, and the deformation mechanism was dislocation slip. When the reduction was 40%, deformation twins appeared, and interactions between twins and dislocation cells induced strip-like dislocation cells. When the reduction exceeded 60%, shear bands formed and apparent crystal rotation in the micro-region happened. Further increasing the reduction, the amount of the shear bands rose and they interacted with each other, which refined the grains apparently. The tensile strength and hardness increased from 353 MPa and HV 119 of the as-cast alloy to 625 MPa and HV 208 with 95% reduction, respectively, and the elongation reduced from 35% to 7.6%. A process of HCCM horizontal continuous casting-cold rolling can work as a novel compact method to fabricate Cu-Be alloy sheet.

Phase-field simulation of lack-of-fusion defect and grain growth during laser powder bed fusion of Inconel 718

The anisotropy of the structure and properties caused by the strong epitaxial growth of grains during laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)significantly affects the mechanical performance of Inconel 718 alloy components such as turbine disks.The defects(lack-of-fusion Lo F)in components processed via L-PBF are detrimental to the strength of the alloy.The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of laser scanning parameters on the epitaxial grain growth and LoF formation in order to obtain the parameter space in which the microstructure is refined and LoF defect is suppressed.The temperature field of the molten pool and the epitaxial grain growth are simulated using a multiscale model combining the finite element method with the phase-field method.The LoF model is proposed to predict the formation of LoF defects resulting from insufficient melting during L-PBF.Defect mitigation and grain-structure control during L-PBF can be realized simultaneously in the model.The simulation shows the input laser energy density for the as-deposited structure with fine grains and without LoF defects varied from 55.0–62.5 J·mm^(-3)when the interlayer rotation angle was 0°–90°.The optimized process parameters(laser power of 280 W,scanning speed of 1160 mm·s^(-1),and rotation angle of 67°)were computationally screened.In these conditions,the average grain size was 7.0μm,and the ultimate tensile strength and yield strength at room temperature were(1111±3)MPa and(820±7)MPa,respectively,which is 8.8%and10.5%higher than those of reported.The results indicating the proposed multiscale computational approach for predicting grain growth and Lo F defects could allow simultaneous grain-structure control and defect mitigation during L-PBF.

A rapid and effective method for alloy materials design via sample data transfer machine learning

One of the challenges in material design is to rapidly develop new materials or improve the performance of materials by utilizing the data and knowledge of existing materials.Here,a rapid and effective method of alloy material design via data transfer learning is proposed to efficiently design new alloys using existing data.A new type of aluminum alloy(E2 alloy)with ultra strength and high toughness previously developed by the authors is used as an example.An optimal three-stage solution-aging treatment process(T66R)was efficiently designed transferring 1053 pieces of process-property relationship data of existing AA7xxx commercial aluminum alloys.It realizes the substantial improvement of strength and plasticity of E2 alloy simultaneously,which is of great significance for lightweight of high-end equipment.Meanwhile,the microstructure analysis clarifies the mechanism of alloy performance improvement.This study shows that transferring the existing alloy data is an effective method to design new alloys.

Erratum to:Phase-field simulation of lack-of-fusion defect and grain growth during laser powder bed fusion of Inconel 718

The original online version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake.The reference[24]in the original online version is incorrect.The correct version is given below:Y.H.Cheng,Numerical Simulation and Experimental Research of Selective Laser Melting on Nickel Based Alloy Powder GH4169[Dissertation],North University of China,Taiyuan,2016.

Prospects of materials genome engineering frontiers

Materials genome engineering represents the new frontier of materials research,and is disrupting the conventional“trial and error”paradigm for materials innovation.In the present perspective,the author reflects on the major achievements already made in five sub-domains,including high-efficiency materials computation and design,revolutionary experimental technologies,materials big data technologies,research and development of advanced materials,and industrial applications.Furthermore,the author lays out five crucial directions of future efforts for maturing the relevant technologies.These directions include cross-scale modeling and computational design,artificial intelligence for materials science,automatic and intelligent experimentation,digital twin,and data resource management and sharing.

Materials Genome Engineering Advances:A new journal dedicated to digital and intelligent materials research and development

On behalf of the editorial team,I am delighted to announce the inauguration of the journal,Materials Genome Engineering Advances co-published by Wiley,University of Science and Technology Beijing and Chinese Materials Research Society.Materials Genome Engineering Advances is a pioneering journal dedicated to the emergent research field of materials genome engineering(MGE).It encom-passes all three core technologies(high-efficiency compu-tation,advanced experimentation,and big data technology)and focuses on their seamless integration within the mate-rials science landscape.

Discovery of aluminum alloys with ultra-strength and high-toughness via a property-oriented design strategy

Aluminum alloys with ultra-strength and high-toughness are fundamental structural materials applied in the aerospace industry.Due to the intrinsic restriction between strength and toughness,optimizing a desirable combination of these conflicting properties is always challenging in material development.In this study,171 sets of data were curated based on the characteristics of high-strength and high-toughness aluminum alloys in the literature.Then,a machine learning design system(MLDS)with a property-oriented design strategy was established to rapidly discover novel aluminum alloys with ductility and toughness indexes(with elongationδ=8%–10%and fracture toughness K_(IC)=33–35 MPa·m^(1/2))comparable to those of current state-of-the-art AA7136 aluminum alloys when the ultimate tensile strength(UTS)exceeded approximately 100 MPa,with values reaching 700–750 MPa.With the MLDS for experimental verification,three typical candidate alloys show satisfactory performance with UTS of 707–736 MPa,δof 7.8%–9.5%,and K_(IC)of 32.2–33.9 MPa·m^(1/2).The high contents of Mg and Zn alloying elements in the novel alloys form abundantη'phases,which produce a significant hardening effect,while the reasonable matching of Cr,Mn,Ti and Zr dispersoids refines the grain size.The decreased Cu content compared with that in the AA7136 alloy inhibits the formation of theσphase and S phase,so that the alloys show high toughness.

Simultaneous enhancement in mechanical and corrosion properties of Al-Mg-Si alloys using machine learning

Al-Mg-Si alloys with high strength and good corrosion resistance are regarded as desirable materials for all-aluminum vehicles.However,the traditional trial-and-error experimental methods are insufficient to address the trade-offbetween strength and corrosion resistance.In this work,a non-dominated sorting genetic machine-learning algorithm(NSGA-II)was employed to optimize the chemical composition,so as to simultaneously improve the strength and corrosion resistance.Three high-performance Al-Mg-Si alloys with low Mg,Si,and Cu contents were successfully developed,where the yield strength(YS),ultimate tensile strength(UTS),and the elongation(δ)reached 375-380 MPa,410-416 MPa,and 13.7%-15.2%,re-spectively.Compared with higher-Cu-content 6013 alloy,the YS and UTS of the present alloys increase by about 60 MPa,and the intergranular corrosion resistance is also significantly improved.Microstruc-ture characterization demonstrated thatβ’’and QP phases introduced a significant synergistic precipita-tion strengthening effect;the dispersoids formed by trace Mn,Cr,Fe,Zr,and Ti contributed dispersion strengthening effect;and the good pitting corrosion resistance is attributed to lower Mg and Si contents.

Relationship between martensite microstructure and ductility of H13 steel from aspect of crystallography

Based on the parent austenite orientation reconstruction method,it is aimed to reveal the origination of high angle grain boundaries(HAGBs)and its relationship with ductility of H13 steel.The orientation relationship between martensite and parent austenite of quenched H13 samples was(123.5°,9.3°,192.5°),which agreed with the Kurdumov–Sachs relationship.The variant distribution of quenched samples was dominated by close-packed plane group,and its high length fraction of V1/V2 inter-variant boundaries of calculated 62.6%was mainly contributed to HAGBs(>45°).When the quenched H13 samples underwent the pre-tempering treatment,their density of HAGBs(>45°)notably increased from 1.33 to 2.39μm^(−1),which improved its total elongation from 8.3%to 11.5%.Compared with the quenched H13 samples,the length fraction of V1/V2 inter-variant boundaries of H13 samples with pre-tempering for 5,10 and 60 min was reduced by 6.7%,7.0%and 7.5%,respectively.During pre-tempering treatment,V1/V3&V5 variant pairs,etc.,merged V1/V2 variant pair by strain-induced grain boundary migration,which decreased the length fraction of V1/V2 inter-variant boundaries by 7.0%.The pre-tempering treatment significantly increased HAGBs(>45°)of H13 samples by sub-grains coarsening and strain-induced grain boundary migration mechanism.

A room-temperature magnetic semiconductor from a Co-Fe-Nb-B metallic glass

Magnetic semiconductors with Curie temperatures higher than room temperature show potential for developing spintronic devices with combined data processing and storage functions for next-generation computing systems.In this study,we present an n-type Co_(19.8)Fe_(8.6)Nb_(4.3)B_(6.0)O_(61.3) magnetic semiconductor with a high Curie temperature of~559 K.This magnetic semiconductor has a room-temperature resistivity of~2.10×10^(4)Ωcm and a saturation magnetization of~76 emu/cm^(3).The n-type Co_(19.8)Fe_(8.6)Nb_(4.3)B_(6.0)O_(61.3)magnetic semiconductor was deposited on p-type silicon to form a heterojunction,exhibiting a rectifying characteristic.Our results provide the design principles for discovering high Curie temperature magnetic semiconductors with determined conduction types,which would play an essential role in realizing nonvolatile spin-based transistors that break free from the confines of currently established Si-based information technology.

Widely tunable optical properties via oxygen manipulation in an amorphous alloy

The ability to widely tune the optical properties of amorphous alloys is highly desirable especially for their potential applications in optoelectronic devices.In this work,we demonstrate that introducing oxygen into an amorphous alloy system of Co-Fe-Ta-B enables the formation of various amorphous derivatives ranging from metals to semiconductors,and eventually to insulators.These oxygencontaining amorphous derivatives gradually become transparent with the opened bandgaps,leading to a continuous increase in their optical transmittance.Furthermore,the reflective metal-type amorphous alloy and transparent insulator-type amorphous oxide of the system can be integrated together to realize the full-color tuning over the entire visible spectral range.This provides a new way to develop large-area color coatings with high design flexibility and full-color tunability.We envisage that the design concept proposed in this work is also applicable to many other amorphous alloy systems,from which all types of amorphous materials including alloys,semiconductors and insulators may be developed to show unprecedented optical functionalities.