Improvement of microstructure and fatigue performance of wire-arc additive manufactured 4043 aluminum alloy assisted by interlayer friction stir processing

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2022.07.001

Abstract

Abstract:

To expand the application of wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) in aluminum alloy forming components, it is vitally important to reduce the porosity, refine microstructure, and thereby improve the mechanical properties of the components. In this study, the interlayer friction stir processing (FSP) technique was employed to assist the WAAM of 4043 Al-Si alloy, and the related effects on the microstructure evolutions and mechanical properties of the fabricated builds were systematacially investigated. As compared to the conventional WAAM processing of Al-Si alloy, it was found that the introduction of interlayer FSP can effectively eliminate the pores, and both the α-Al dendrites and Si-rich eutectic network were severely broken up, leading to a remarkable enhancement in ductility and fatigue performance. The average yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the Al-based components produced by the combination of WAAM and interlayer FSP methods were 88 and 148 MPa, respectively. Meanwhile, the elongation (EL) of 37.5% and 28.8% can be achieved in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively. Such anisotropy of EL was attributed to the inhomogeneous microstructure in the stir zone (SZ). Notably, the stress concentration can be effectively reduced by the elimination of porosity and Si-rich eutectic network fragmentation by the interlayer FSP, and thus the fatigue behavior was improved with the fatigue strength and elongation increased by ∼28% and ∼108.7%, respectively. It is anticipated that this study will provide a powerful strategy and theoretical guidance for the WAAM fabrication of Al-based alloy components with high ductility and fatigue performance.

Key words: Wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), Friction stir processing (FSP), Aluminum alloy, Microstructure evolution, Fatigue performance

Changshu He, Jingxun Wei, Ying Li, Zhiqiang Zhang, Ni Tian, Gaowu Qin, Liang Zuo. Improvement of microstructure and fatigue performance of wire-arc additive manufactured 4043 aluminum alloy assisted by interlayer friction stir processing[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2023, 133: 183-194.

Figures/Tables 14

Table 1. Chemical compositions of the ER4043 aluminum wire and 6082-T6 aluminum alloy substrate (wt.%).

Empty Cell	Si	Mg	Mn	Cu	Ti	Fe	Zn	Al
ER4043 wire	5.00	-	-	0.03	0.02	0.14	0.02	Bal.
Substrate	0.98	0.70	0.44	0.02	0.01	0.15	0.07	Bal.

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the WAAM + interlayer FSP hybrid additive manufacturing: (a) experimental platform for WAAM + interlayer FSP; (b) WAAM processing, (c) milling processing, (d) interlayer FSP deformation.

Fig. 2. (a) Sampling schematics for the microstructural observations, tensile tests, and fatigue tests; the dimensions of (b) tensile specimen and (c) fatigue specimen.

Fig. 3. Macro-structure and microstructure of the WAAM Al-Si alloy: (a) macrostructure; (b) optical micrograph; (c-e) dendritic structures observed in the MPZ fine-grained region, coarse-grained region, and fusion line, respectively; (f-h) LSCM images of the interdendritic distribution of Si particles within the regions of MPZ, PMZ, and HAZ, respectively.

Fig. 4. Macro-structure and microstructure observations of the WAAM + interlayer FSP Al-Si alloy: (a) macrostructure; (b) overlap of the SZ; (c) optical micrograph of SZ; (d) light strip structure in the SZ; LSCM images of distribution of Si particles within the regions of (e) SZ, (f) light strip in the SZ.

Fig. 5. EBSD mappings for (a) the MPZ of the WAAM Al-Si alloys and (b) the SZ of the WAAM + interlayer FSP Al-Si alloys.

Fig. 6. Morphology observations of Si particles: (a) the WAAM Al-Si alloy; (b) enlargement of (a); (c) the WAAM + interlayer FSP Al-Si alloy; (d) enlargement of (c).

Fig. 7. Pores distribution in the WAAM and WAAM + interlayer FSP Al-Si alloy: (a) middle part of the WAAM wall; (b) porosity analysis area; (c) middle part of the WAAM + interlayer FSP wall.

Fig. 8. Tensile properties of the WAAM and WAAM + interlayer FSP Al-Si alloys: (a) engineering stress-strain curves; (b) histograms of average tensile strength and elongation.

Fig. 9. Side views of the fracture surfaces of the WAAM and WAAM + interlayer FSP tensile specimens: (a) horizontal and (b) vertical specimen of the WAAM; (c, e) horizontal and (d, f) vertical specimen of the WAAM + interlayer FSP.

Fig. 10. SEM micrographs of the WAAM and WAAM + interlayer FSP tensile specimen after uniaxial tensile failure: (a) damages and (b) cracks propagation path of the WAAM specimen; (c) WAAM + interlayer FSP tensile specimen.

Fig. 11. Cross-sectional views of fracture surface morphology of the WAAM and WAAM + interlayer FSP tensile specimens: (a) horizontal and (b) vertical specimen of the WAAM; (c) horizontal and (d) vertical specimen of the WAAM + interlayer FSP.

Fig. 12. Stress-fatigue life (S-N) curves of the WAAM and WAAM + interlayer FSP Al-Si alloys.

Fig. 13. Fracture morphologies of the fatigue specimens: the WAAM specimen at the maximum stresses of (a) 70 MPa and (b) 110 MPa; the WAAM + interlayer FSP specimen at the maximum stresses of (c) 95 MPa and (d) 110 MPa.

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