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Evolution of Heterogeneous Microstructure and its Effects on Tensile Properties of Selective Laser Melted AlSi10Mg Alloy

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Abstract

To figure out the evolution of the heterogeneous microstructure across the molten pool boundaries (MPBs) and its effects on tensile properties of selective laser melted (SLM) AlSi10Mg alloy, two of the most commonly used scanning strategies, i.e., bidirectional scanning within a layer and with a 90° and 67° rotation for the successive layers (zigzag-90 and zigzag-67) were adopted. Grain morphology, solidification microstructure, texture and room temperature tensile properties of the SLMed AlSi10Mg alloy under the two scanning strategies were studied. The coarse columnar and fine equiaxed grains were observed in a single solidified track under the two scanning strategies. The columnar grains dominated the bulk of the molten pool (MP) while the equiaxed grains mainly distributed along the MPBs. The equiaxed grains along MPBs break the continuous growth of the columnar grains and lead to a weak texture. A new mechanism based on heterogeneous nucleation and constitutional supercooling was proposed to explain the formation of heterogeneous microstructure across the MPBs. The tensile test was performed in the horizontal (perpendicular to the build direction) and the vertical (parallel to the build direction) directions fabricated under the two scanning strategies. The mechanical properties showed obvious fluctuation, and the yield strength of the horizontal direction is generally higher than that of the vertical direction. The distribution of pores and MPBs is the main factors to influence the tensile properties.

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source of nuclei particles during melting, (a) the initial molten pool, (b) the steady molten pool. TE and TL denote the eutectic temperature and equilibrium liquidus temperature

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Key Technologies R&D Program [Grant 2016YFB11000100] and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [Grant No. 21618325].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Advanced Wear & Corrosion Resistance and Functional Materials, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

    Yongchao Ou, Qiang Zhang, Yunlong Hu, Xiaojian Wang & Wei Li

  2. Bright Laser Technologies Co. Ltd., Xi’an, 710117, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Yunyun Wei

  3. Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, 73 Nanyang Drive, Singapore, 637662, Singapore

    Shang Sui

  4. State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, 710072, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Jing Chen

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  1. Yongchao Ou
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Correspondence to Qiang Zhang or Xiaojian Wang.

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Ou, Y., Zhang, Q., Wei, Y. et al. Evolution of Heterogeneous Microstructure and its Effects on Tensile Properties of Selective Laser Melted AlSi10Mg Alloy. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 30, 4341–4355 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-021-05757-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-021-05757-6

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