Strength and Ductility Characteristics of Metal Alloys and Stainless Steels Created by Wire-Arc Surfacing in a Wide Range of Strain Rates

Abstract

To select rational parameters of the process of hybrid additive manufacturing of structures made of structural metal alloys and stainless steels, mechanical characteristics capable of serving as indicators of material quality were determined. The most advanced technologies of additive manufacturing by wire-arc surfacing (plasma, plasma arc with a melting electrode, including cold metal transfer) with layer-by-layer forging with a pneumatic impact tool and subsequent heat treatment were used. Aluminum-magnesium alloy AlMg5, titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V, austenitic stainless steels 12Cr18Ni10Ti (AISI 321) and AISI 308LSi have been studied. Samples were cut from the blanks created by additive manufacturing – blades for standard tests for static uniaxial tension and cylinders for high-speed compression tests by the Kolsky method on a Hopkinson split bar. According to the registered and processed stress–strain curves for all materials, standard strength and ductility characteristics and the Johnson – Cook law of deformation and speed hardening were determined. For a correct assessment of the mechanical properties of additively produced materials, these tests were also carried out for each of them in the form of annealed rolled products. It is established that to compare the efficiency of various technological parameters of additive manufacturing, it is advisable to use static tensile strength and uniform elongation to rupture, having the smallest statistical variation. It was also found acceptable to approximate the Johnson – Cook law of the deformation curves of each of the studied materials according to averaged data, including various technological modes. Certain mechanical characteristics seem to be necessary for the search for effective modes of hybrid additive manufacturing and numerical calculation of various elastic-plastic problems in a dynamic formulation for the studied materials for design and technological needs.