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Titanium and its alloy are attractive materials used worldwide for various applications, especially for manufacturing fusion reactors and pressure vessels. This study aims to provide knowledge on the microstructural and mechanical characteristics of titanium grade 9 wall fabricated using wire feeding additive manufacturing (WFAM) with gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW)-aided technique. An inert environment is provided during the process to manufacture a defect-free wall. Due to varying thermal cycles, there is a variation in the microstructure of the WFAM processed wall. The change in the texture of the WFAM processed wall is analysed through electron backscatter diffraction spectroscopy (inverse pole figures and pole figures), which influences the material properties. The WFAM processed wall exhibits superior mechanical characteristics compared to wrought alloys. Numerous morphologies in the fractured surface infer the occurrence of ductile fracture. A comparative study has been conducted between the outcomes of finite element simulation and experimental results. The results of finite element simulation and experimentation were in good agreement. The compilation of results gathered from mechanical and microstructural characterization shows that gas tungsten arc welding-aided-WFAM titanium grade 9 wall is suitable for fabricating fusion reactors and pressure vessels. Hence, first-hand knowledge is gained on the fabrication of fusion reactors and pressure vessels in nuclear application using the tungsten arc welding-aided-WFAM titanium grade 9 wall.

During fabrication of complex polymeric structure engineers need to compromise either accuracy or duration which hinders the production efficiency of the industries. Additive manufacturing is an evolving technology with great potential to achieve enhanced mechanical properties of materials over other manufacturing processes. Additive manufacturing effectively reduces lead time thus providing faster fabrication. A prevalent additive manufacturing method to fabricate polymeric structure is fused deposition modelling. Composite material generally possesses better mechanical properties than non-composite material. Polylactic acid is one of popular feedstocks used to fabricate components through fused deposition modelling. Functionally graded materials are structured to possess different mechanical properties towards a graded direction. Hence, this study aims to provide insight to the characteristics of the functionally graded materials structure fabricated with wood polymer composite and ceramic-reinforced polylactic acid. Mechanical tests such as tensile (smooth and V-notch), compression, flexural, impact, and hardness (Shore D hardness) are conducted for functionally graded materials structure and the extracted results are compared with the characteristics of wood polymer composite and ceramic-reinforced polylactic acid materials. The tensile strength of the functionally graded materials structure is found superior to weaker composites (wood polymer composite) and comparable to resilient materials (ceramic-reinforced polylactic acid). Microscopical examinations are carried out for the fabricated structure to ensure the quality. The fractured surfaces are examined using optical microscope to evaluate the mode of failures. The microscopic evaluation conducted for fabricated and fractured structure indicates robust bonding within and between (functionally graded materials interface) wood polymer composite and ceramic-reinforced polylactic acid structure.

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