Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul 22;15(15):5089.
doi: 10.3390/ma15155089.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of an Al-Mg-Si-Zr Alloy Processed by L-PBF and Subsequent Heat Treatments

Wonseok Yang  1 , Young-Gil Jung  1 , Taeyang Kwak  2 , Shae K Kim  1 , Hyunkyu Lim  1 , Do-Hyang Kim  3
Affiliations

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of an Al-Mg-Si-Zr Alloy Processed by L-PBF and Subsequent Heat Treatments

Wonseok Yang et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop a new Al-Mg-Si-Zr alloy with a high magnesium content to achieve a wide range of mechanical properties using heat treatment and at a lower cost. Additive manufacturing was conducted using a powder bed fusion process with various scan speeds to change the volumetric energy density and establish optimal process conditions. In addition, mechanical properties were evaluated using heat treatment under various conditions. The characterization of the microstructure was conducted by scanning electron microscopy with electron backscatter diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The mechanical properties were determined by tensile tests. The as-built specimen showed a yield strength of 447.9 ± 3.6 MPa, a tensile strength of 493.4 ± 6.7 MPa, and an elongation of 9.6 ± 1.1%. Moreover, the mechanical properties could be adjusted according to various heat treatment conditions. Specifically, under the HT1 (low-temperature artificial aging) condition, the ultimate tensile strength increased to 503.2 ± 1.1 MPa, and under the HT2 (high-temperature artificial aging) condition, the yield strength increased to 467 ± 1.3 MPa. It was confirmed that the maximum elongation (14.3 ± 0.8%) was exhibited with the HT3 (soft annealing) heat treatment.

Keywords: aluminum alloy; mechanical properties; microstructure; powder bed fusion.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) As-built specimens, (b) geometry of dog-bone specimen (dimension in mm).
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) SEM image of the powder morphology, (b) distribution of particle size.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of various scan speeds: (a) relative densities, (b) TYS and elongation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
SEM images of (a) low magnification and (b) the fine-grain region.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Low-magnification BF-TEM image of the fine-grain region.
Figure 6
Figure 6
TEM-EDS mapping of a precipitate in the fine-grain region: (a) BF-TEM image, (b) Mg, (c) Si, (d) Al, and (e) Zr contents.
Figure 7
Figure 7
BF-TEM images using the STEM mode and corresponding selected area diffraction (SAD) pattern in the fine-grain region: (a,c) Al3Zr and (b,d) Mg2Si precipitates.
Figure 8
Figure 8
EBSD inverse pole figure (IPF) orientation maps corresponding with grain boundaries on the longitudinal section: (a) as-built, (b) HT1, (c) HT2, and (d) HT3 conditions.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Grain size distribution of the samples under different heat treatment conditions.
Figure 10
Figure 10
TEM-EDS chemical maps in the fine-grain region: (a) as-built, (b) HT1, (c) HT2, and (d) HT3 conditions.
Figure 11
Figure 11
TEM-EDS chemical maps in the coarse-grain region: (a) as-built, (b) HT1, (c) HT2, and (d) HT3 conditions.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Variation in mechanical properties: (a) stress–strain curve and (b) average tensile test values.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Zavala-Arredondo M., London T., Allen M., Maccio T., Ward S., Griffiths D., Allison A., Goodwin P., Hauser C. Use of power factor and specific point energy as design parameters in laser powder-bed-fusion (L-PBF) of AlSi10Mg alloy. Mater. Des. 2019;182:108018. doi: 10.1016/j.matdes.2019.108018. - DOI
    1. Griffiths S., Rossell M., Croteau J., Dunand D., Leinenbach C. Effect of laser rescanning on the grain microstructure of a selective laser melted Al-Mg-Zr alloy. Mater. Charact. 2018;143:34–42. doi: 10.1016/j.matchar.2018.03.033. - DOI
    1. Rometsch P.A., Zhu Y., Wu X., Huang A. Review of high-strength aluminium alloys for additive manufacturing by laser powder bed fusion. Mater. Des. 2022;219:110779. doi: 10.1016/j.matdes.2022.110779. - DOI
    1. Weingarten C., Buchbinder D., Pirch N., Meiners W., Wissenbach K., Poprawe R. Formation and reduction of hydrogen porosity during selective laser melting of AlSi10Mg. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 2015;221:112–120. doi: 10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2015.02.013. - DOI
    1. Aboulkhair N., Simonelli M., Parry L., Ashcroft I., Tuck C. 3D printing of Aluminium alloys: Additive Manufacturing of Aluminium alloys using selective laser melting. Prog. Mater. Sci. 2019;106:100578. doi: 10.1016/j.pmatsci.2019.100578. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources