Microstructure and microhardness of aluminium alloy with underwater and in-air wire-feed laser deposition

Abstract

This study carried out the underwater and in-air wire-feed laser deposition of an aluminium alloy with a thin-walled tubular structure. For both the underwater and in-air deposition layers, both were well-formed and incomplete fusion, cracks, or other defects did not exist. Compared with the single-track deposition layer in air, the oxidation degree of the underwater single-track deposition layer was slightly higher. In both the underwater and in-air deposition layers, columnar dendrites nucleated close to the fusion line and grew along the direction of the maximum cooling rate in the fusion region (FR), while equiaxed grains formed in the deposited region (DR). As the environment changed from air to water, the width of DR and height of FR decreased, but the deposition angle and height of DR increased. The grain size and ratio of the high-angle boundaries also decreased due to the large cooling rate and low peak temperature in the water environment. Besides, the existence of a water environment benefitted the reduction of magnesium element burning loss in the DR. The microhardness values of the underwater deposition layer were much larger than those of the in-air layer, owing to the fine grains and high magnesium content.

Keywords

wire-feed laser deposition / microstructure / magnesium element burn loss / microhardness

References

[1] E.B. Moustafa and A.O. Mosleh, Effect of (Ti—B) modifier elements and FSP on 5052 aluminum alloy, J. Alloys Compd., 823(2020), art. No. 153745.

[2] Duraipandi C, Khan M A, Winowlin JJT, Ghazaly NM, Mashinini PM. Solid particle erosion studies of thermally deposited alumina-titania coatings on an aluminum alloy. Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 2021, 28(7): 1186.

[3] Xia HM, Zhang L, Zhu YC, et al. Mechanical properties of graphene nanoplatelets reinforced 7075 aluminum alloy composite fabricated by spark plasma sintering. Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 2020, 27(9): 1295.

[4] Lu RQ, Zhang L, Zheng SW, et al. Microstructure, mechanical properties and deformation mechanisms of an Al-Mg alloy processed by the cyclical continuous expanded extrusion and drawing approach. Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 2022, 29(1): 108.

[5] Herzog D, Seyda V, Wycisk E, Emmelmann C. Additive manufacturing of metals. Acta Mater., 2016, 117, 371.

[6] Shang C, Xu GJ, Wang CY, Yang G, You JH. Laser deposition manufacturing of bimetallic structure from TA15 to inconel 718 via copper interlayer. Mater. Lett., 2019, 252, 342.

[7] Thijs L, Verhaeghe F, Craeghs T, Humbeeck JV, Kruth JP. A study of the microstructural evolution during selective laser melting of Ti-6Al-4V. Acta Mater., 2010, 58(9): 3303.

[8] Adebiyi DI, Popoola API. Mitigation of abrasive wear damage of Ti-6Al-4V by laser surface alloying. Mater. Des., 2015, 74, 67.

[9] Hosseini-Tayeb H, Rafiaei SM. Enhanced microstructural and mechanical properties of Stellite/WC nanocomposite on Inconel 718 deposited through vibration-assisted laser cladding. Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 2022, 29(2): 327.

[10] Syed WUH, Li L. Effects of wire feeding direction and location in multiple layer diode laser direct metal deposition. Appl. Surf. Sci., 2005, 248(1–4): 518.

[11] M. Moradi, A. Ashoori, and A. Hasani, Additive manufacturing of stellite 6 superalloy by direct laser metal deposition — Part 1: Effects of laser power and focal plane position, Opt. Laser Technol., 131(2020), art. No. 106328.

[12] Froend M, Riekehr S, Kashaev N, Klusemann B, Enz J. Process development for wire-based laser metal deposition of 5087 aluminium alloy by using fibre laser. J. Manuf. Process., 2018, 34, 721.

[13] Guo N, Xing X, Zhao HY, Tan CW, Feng JC, Deng ZQ. Effect of water depth on weld quality and welding process in underwater fiber laser welding. Mater. Des., 2017, 115, 112.

[14] Feng XR, Cui XF, Zheng W, et al. Performance of underwater laser cladded nickel aluminum bronze by applying zinc protective layer and titanium additives. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2019, 266, 544.

[15] Wen X, Jin G, Cui XF, et al. Underwater wet laser cladding on 316L stainless steel: A protective material assisted method. Opt. Laser Technol., 2019, 111, 814.

[16] Guo N, Fu YL, Xing X, Liu YK, Zhao SX, Feng JC. Underwater local dry cavity laser welding of 304 stainless steel. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2018, 260, 146.

[17] Y.L. Fu, N. Guo, G.H. Wang, M.Q. Yu, Q. Cheng, and D. Zhang, Underwater additive manufacturing of Ti-6Al-4V alloy by laser metal deposition: Formability, gran growth and microstructure evolution, Mater. Des., 197(2021), art. No. 109196.

[18] Chen GY, Wang B, Mao S, Zhong PX, He J. Research on the “∞”-shaped laser scanning welding process for aluminum alloy. Opt. Laser Technol., 2019, 115, 32.

[19] Fang JX, Mo JH, Li JJ. Microstructure difference of 5052 aluminum alloys under conventional drawing and electromagnetic pulse assisted incremental drawing. Mater. Charact., 2017, 129, 88.

[20] Jiang HW, Li N, Xu Z, Fan ZS, Yu HP, Liu L. Microstructure, texture and mechanical properties of 5A02 aluminum alloy tubes under electromagnetic bulging. Mater. Des., 2015, 82, 106.

[21] Brandl E, Michailov V, Viehweger B, Leyens C. Deposition of Ti-6Al-4V using laser and wire, part II: Hardness and dimensions of single beads. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2011, 206(6): 1130.

[22] Z.D. Wang, G.F. Sun, Y. Lu, et al., High-performance Ti-6Al-4V with graded microstructure and superior properties fabricated by powder feeding underwater laser metal deposition, Surf. Coat. Technol., 408(2021), art. No. 126778.

[23] Z.D. Wang, G.F. Sun, M.Z. Chen, et al., Investigation of the underwater laser directed energy deposition technique for the on-site repair of HSLA-100 steel with excellent performance, Addit. Manuf., 39(2021), art. No. 101884.

[24] Zhou Y, Chen SY, Chen XT, Cui T, Liang J, Liu CS. The evolution of bainite and mechanical properties of direct laser deposition 12CrNi₂ alloy steel at different laser power. Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2019, 742, 150.

[25] Zhan XH, Chen JC, Liu JJ, Wei YH, Zhou JJ, Meng Y. Microstructure and magnesium burning loss behavior of AA6061 electron beam welding joints. Mater. Des., 2016, 99, 449.