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Densification and microstructural evolution during laser sintering of A356/SiC composite powders

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Abstract

This article reports experimental results on laser sintering of A356 aluminum alloy and A356/SiC composite powders. Effects of scan rate, sintering atmosphere, hatch spacing, and SiC volume fraction (up to 20%), and particle size (7 and 17 μm) on the densification were studied. The phase formation and microstructural development were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Laser sintering under argon atmosphere exhibited higher densification compared to nitrogen. A faster sintering kinetics was observed as the scan rate decreased. Except at a low SiC content (5 vol%), the composite powders exhibited lower densification kinetics. The densification was improved when finer SiC particles were utilized. Microstructural studies revealed directional solidification of aluminum melt to form columnar grains with inter-columnar silicon precipitates. In the presence of SiC particles, aluminum melt reacted with the ceramic particles to form Al4SiC4 plates.

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Acknowledgement

Partial funding of this work by the European Commission within the Network of Excellence “Knowledge-based multicomponent materials for durable and safe performance” (KMM-NoE) is acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Avenue, P.O. Box 11365-9466, 14588, Tehran, Iran

    A. Simchi

  2. Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (INST), Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Avenue, P.O. Box 11365-9466, 14588, Tehran, Iran

    A. Simchi

  3. Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, Wiener Str. 12, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    D. Godlinski

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  1. A. Simchi
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  2. D. Godlinski
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Correspondence to A. Simchi.

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Simchi, A., Godlinski, D. Densification and microstructural evolution during laser sintering of A356/SiC composite powders. J Mater Sci 46, 1446–1454 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-010-4943-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-010-4943-0

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