Correlations between Microstructure Characteristics and Mechanical Properties in 5183 Aluminium Alloy Fabricated by Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing with Different Arc Modes

Abstract

The effect of arc modes on the microstructure and tensile properties of 5183 aluminium alloy fabricated by cold metal transfer (CMT) processes has been thoroughly investigated. Heat inputs of CMT processes with three arc modes, i.e., CMT, CMT advance (CMT+A), and CMT pulse (CMT+P), were quantified, and their influence on the formation of pores were investigated. The highest tensile strength was found from samples built by the CMT+A process. This agrees well with their smallest average pore sizes. Average tensile strengths of CMT+A arc mode-built samples were 296.9 MPa and 291.8 MPa along the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively. The difference of tensile strength along the horizontal and vertical directions of the CMT+P and CMT samples was mainly caused by the pores at the interfaces between each deposited layer. The successfully built large 5183 aluminium parts by the CMT+A arc mode further proves that this arc mode is a suitable mode for manufacturing of 5183 aluminium alloy.

Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing with TiC-Nanoparticle Reinforced AA5183 Alloy

“…The tensile properties of the commercial AA5183 material were comparable to reported literature data, i.e. ultimate tensile strength 290-300 MPa [13,20]. Anisotropy in strain between deposition direction X and throughthickness direction Z can be related to the layer-wise accumulation of cavities as shown in Figure 4d).…”

Effects of Thermal Cycling on Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing of Al-5356 Components

“…However, most of the current research regarding the influence of temperature regimes on the resulting properties during additive manufacturing is focused on steel and titanium alloys. Research on WAAM using various aluminum alloys is mainly focused on microstructural evolution, pore formation as well as the effects of different arc modes on microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties [14,[23][24][25][26].…”

Comparative study of eutectic Al-Si alloys manufactured by WAAM and casting

“…The porosity deviated significantly from 0.3 to 3.0% by area. Fang et al [32], on the other side, measured a relatively low area percentage (0.36-0.85%) in AA5183 thin walls. Köhler et al [33] compared the porosity content of AA5356 and AA4047 by visual inspection (no statistical data was given), and concluded AA5356 being denser.…”