Abstract
The selective laser melting (SLM) of aluminium alloys is of interest to researchers because of these alloys’ potential applications in the aerospace and automotive domains. Post-processing is generally required in order to enhance the mechanical properties of devices that involve moving parts, where surface mechanical properties are significant factors. This paper describes a preliminary study that was conducted to investigate the effect of post-processing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of SLM fabricated AlSi10Mg alloy, with an emphasis on the laser surface remelting (LSR) process. The experimental results demonstrate that the heat treatment degraded tensile strength while improving ductility by achieving grain growth and residual stress release. The yield strength obtained in the experiment was reduced from 200 to 100 MPa, whereas the elongation increased from 6 to 22%. The LSR process was found to contribute to an improvement in surface finish. The surface roughness indicator Ra was determined to be 0.93 μm in the LSR post-processed sample, compared to a fairly high value of 19.3 μm in the as-fabricated samples. The LSR process also enhanced the microhardness by refining the microstructure; the Si eutectic dendritic structure that formed was found to be finer than that of the as-fabricated samples. Compared to the as-fabricated samples, the LSR process contributed to a 19.5% increase in microhardness. The findings suggest that the microstructure and mechanical properties of SLM-fabricated AlSi10Mg parts could be tailored by suitable post-processing such as heat treatment and LSR. The significance of this research is its proposal of a novel technique to enhance surface hardness using LSR, which is a significant step towards the combination of SLM and LSR processes to manufacture customised aluminium components for the automotive and aerospace sectors.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Çam G, Koçak M (1998) Progress in joining of advanced materials. Int Mater Rev 43:1–44. https://doi.org/10.1179/imr.1998.43.1.1
Han Q, Geng Y, Setchi R, Lacan F, Gu D, Evans SL (2017) Macro and nanoscale wear behaviour of Al-Al2O3 nanocomposites fabricated by selective laser melting. Compos Part B Eng 127:26–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2017.06.026
Wong M, Tsopanos S, Sutcliffe CJ, Owen I (2007) Selective laser melting of heat transfer devices. Rapid Prototyp J 13:291–297. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552540710824797
Han Q, Gu H, Soe S, Setchi R, Lacan F, Hill J (2018) Manufacturability of AlSi10Mg overhang structures fabricated by laser powder bed fusion. Mater Des 160:1080–1095. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2018.10.043
Read N, Wang W, Essa K, Attallah MM (2015) Selective laser melting of AlSi10Mg alloy: process optimisation and mechanical properties development. Mater Des 65:417–424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2014.09.044
Thijs L, Kempen K, Kruth JP, Van Humbeeck J (2013) Fine-structured aluminium products with controllable texture by selective laser melting of pre-alloyed AlSi10Mg powder. Acta Mater 61:1809–1819. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2012.11.052
Louvis E, Fox P, Sutcliffe CJ (2011) Selective laser melting of aluminium components. J Mater Process Technol 211:275–284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2010.09.019
Han Q, Setchi R, Lacan F, Gu D, Evans SL (2017) Selective laser melting of advanced Al-Al2O3 nanocomposites: simulation, microstructure and mechanical properties. Mater Sci Eng A 698:162–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2017.05.061
Han Q, Setchi R, Evans SL (2016) Synthesis and characterisation of advanced ball-milled Al-Al2O3 nanocomposites for selective laser melting. Powder Technol 297:183–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2016.04.015
Gu DD, Meiners W, Wissenbach K, Poprawe R (2012) Laser additive manufacturing of metallic components: materials, processes and mechanisms. Int Mater Rev 57:133–164
Kruth JP, Froyen L, Van Vaerenbergh J et al (2004) Selective laser melting of iron-based powder. J Mater Process Technol 149:616–622
Han Q, Mertens R, Montero-Sistiaga M et al (2018) Laser powder bed fusion of Hastelloy X: effects of hot isostatic pressing and the hot cracking mechanism. Mater Sci Eng A 732:228–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2018.07.008
Kempen K, Thijs L, Van Humbeeck J, Kruth J-P (2012) Mechanical properties of AlSi10Mg produced by selective laser melting. Phys Procedia 39:439–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phpro.2012.10.059
Brandl E, Heckenberger U, Holzinger V, Buchbinder D (2012) Additive manufactured AlSi10Mg samples using selective laser melting (SLM): microstructure, high cycle fatigue, and fracture behavior. Mater Des 34:159–169
Maskery I, Aboulkhair NT, Corfield MR, Tuck C, Clare AT, Leach RK, Wildman RD, Ashcroft IA, Hague RJM (2016) Quantification and characterisation of porosity in selectively laser melted Al-Si10-Mg using X-ray computed tomography. Mater Charact 111:193–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2015.12.001
Palumbo B, Del Re F, Martorelli M et al (2017) Tensile properties characterization of AlSi10Mg parts produced by direct metal laser sintering via nested effects modeling. Materials (Basel) 10:144. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10020144
Del Re F, Contaldi V, Astarita A et al (2018) Statistical approach for assessing the effect of powder reuse on the final quality of AlSi10Mg parts produced by laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 97:2231–2240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2090-y
Aboulkhair NT, Maskery I, Tuck C, Ashcroft I, Everitt NM (2016) The microstructure and mechanical properties of selectively laser melted AlSi10Mg: the effect of a conventional T6-like heat treatment. Mater Sci Eng A 667:139–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2016.04.092
Li W, Li S, Liu J, Zhang A, Zhou Y, Wei Q, Yan C, Shi Y (2016) Effect of heat treatment on AlSi10Mg alloy fabricated by selective laser melting: microstructure evolution, mechanical properties and fracture mechanism. Mater Sci Eng A 663:116–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2016.03.088
Zhong M, Liu W, Zhang H (2006) Corrosion and wear resistance characteristics of NiCr coating by laser alloying with powder feeding on grey iron liner. Wear 260:1349–1355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2005.09.033
Tong X, Dai MJ, Zhang ZH (2013) Thermal fatigue resistance of H13 steel treated by selective laser surface melting and CrNi alloying. Appl Surf Sci 271:373–380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2013.01.209
Chen L, quan RL, Zhao Y, Zhou H (2008) The wear-resistance of 3Cr2W8V steel with cave pit non-smooth surface processed by laser. J Bionic Eng 5:34–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1672-6529(08)60069-4
Shan H, Zhou H, Sun N, Ren L, Chen L, Li X (2008) Study on adhesion resistance behavior of sample with striated non-smooth surface by laser processing technique. J Mater Process Technol 199:221–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2007.07.033
Standard test methods for tension testing of metallic materials. https://compass.astm.org/Standards/HISTORICAL/E8E8M-13A.htm. Accessed 15 Sep 2018
Zhang B, Liao H, Coddet C (2012) Effects of processing parameters on properties of selective laser melting Mg–9%Al powder mixture. Mater Des 34:753–758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2011.06.061
Kimura T, Nakamoto T (2016) Microstructures and mechanical properties of A356 (AlSi7Mg0.3) aluminum alloy fabricated by selective laser melting. Mater Des 89:1294–1301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2015.10.065
Li XP, Wang XJ, Saunders M, Suvorova A, Zhang LC, Liu YJ, Fang MH, Huang ZH, Sercombe TB (2015) A selective laser melting and solution heat treatment refined Al-12Si alloy with a controllable ultrafine eutectic microstructure and 25% tensile ductility. Acta Mater 95:74–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2015.05.017
Prashanth KG, Scudino S, Klauss HJ, Surreddi KB, Löber L, Wang Z, Chaubey AK, Kühn U, Eckert J (2014) Microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-12Si produced by selective laser melting: effect of heat treatment. Mater Sci Eng A 590:153–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2013.10.023
Hansen N (2004) Hall-Petch relation and boundary strengthening. Scr Mater 51:801–806. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2004.06.002
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Mr. Haiyang Fan from KU Leuven, Belgium, for the SEM operations and valuable discussions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
About this article
Cite this article
Han, Q., Jiao, Y. Effect of heat treatment and laser surface remelting on AlSi10Mg alloy fabricated by selective laser melting. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 102, 3315–3324 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-03272-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-03272-y