The Influence of Processing Parameters on the Al-Mn Enriched Nano-Precipitates Formation in a Novel Al-Mn-Cr-Zr Alloy Tailored for Power Bed Fusion-Laser Beam Process
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Material
2.2. PBF-LB Processing
2.3. Characterization
3. Results
3.1. Relative Density at Different Processing Parameters
3.2. Melt Pool Morphology and Depth
3.3. Microstructural Investigation
3.4. Phase Identification
3.5. Microhardness Testing
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
- All the examined process parameters resulted to be optimal for the achievement of a high level of densification (around 99.5%);
- Melt pool analysis on etched samples revealed the presence of narrower and deeper melt pools for high power samples and wider and shallower ones for low power samples;
- EBSD analysis revealed longitudinal grain growth on multiple layers along the build direction for each condition. Some randomly diffused grain refinement zones were observed in lower power conditions;
- During the SEM feature analysis, a certain number of precipitates were observed and analysed in terms of amount, shape and distribution. Through the aspect ratio examination, the Al-Mn enriched precipitates can be divided into two categories: the spherical ones plentiful on the melt pool boundaries and the oblong ones observed along the grain and cell boundaries. Quantitative analysis revealed an overall higher number of fine precipitates for the lower power sample in line with the XRD observations. The presence of an additional peak of around 0.2 µm as ECD in the sample produced at 170 W denotes a slightly different precipitation behaviour also confirmed by XRD analysis;
- The slight differences noted in grain distribution and in precipitation behaviour do not affect the hardness properties of the alloy. A constant mean value of 104.5 HV was recorded for all conditions.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Element (wt%) | Mn | Cr | Zr | Fe | Si | Al |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al-Mn-Cr-Zr | 5.0 | 0.8 | 0.59 | 0.16 | 0.16 | Remainder |
Power (W) | Hatch Distance (mm) | Layer Thickness (μm) | Scan Speed (mm/s) | VED (Jmm−3) |
---|---|---|---|---|
100 | 0.1 | 30 | 875 | 37 |
125 | 0.1 | 30 | 1125 | |
150 | 0.1 | 30 | 1375 | |
170 | 0.1 | 30 | 1500 |
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Martucci, A.; Mehta, B.; Lombardi, M.; Nyborg, L. The Influence of Processing Parameters on the Al-Mn Enriched Nano-Precipitates Formation in a Novel Al-Mn-Cr-Zr Alloy Tailored for Power Bed Fusion-Laser Beam Process. Metals 2022, 12, 1387. https://doi.org/10.3390/met12081387
Martucci A, Mehta B, Lombardi M, Nyborg L. The Influence of Processing Parameters on the Al-Mn Enriched Nano-Precipitates Formation in a Novel Al-Mn-Cr-Zr Alloy Tailored for Power Bed Fusion-Laser Beam Process. Metals. 2022; 12(8):1387. https://doi.org/10.3390/met12081387
Chicago/Turabian StyleMartucci, Alessandra, Bharat Mehta, Mariangela Lombardi, and Lars Nyborg. 2022. "The Influence of Processing Parameters on the Al-Mn Enriched Nano-Precipitates Formation in a Novel Al-Mn-Cr-Zr Alloy Tailored for Power Bed Fusion-Laser Beam Process" Metals 12, no. 8: 1387. https://doi.org/10.3390/met12081387