Effect of processing parameters on microstruture and mechanical properties of aluminum alloys obtained by additive manufacturing

Abstract

The aim of this project is to investigate the effect of the main process parameters (scanning speed, power, hatching, scanning strategy and powder characteristics) in the additive manufacture of aluminum alloys. Samples with different geometries will be manufactured by the Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) and Direct Energy Deposition (DED) methods. They will be characterized thermally and structurally through Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Optical (MO) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (MET), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) and Energy Dispersion X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). Mechanical characterization will also be performed through tensile, fatigue and fracture toughness tests. Thermodynamic calculations using the THERMOCALC program will be done to study the phases formation and solidification. The results obtained will be correlated with the process parameters used in order to understand the structure - processing - properties correlation of these materials. (AU)