Abstract
The copper alloy –stainless steel (SS316L) bimetallic combination using additive manufacturing (AM) was successfully demonstrated by building the stainless steel on the copper alloy using the selective laser melting process. The tensile coupon having an interface at the centre of gauge length failed on the copper alloy side away from the interface region, motivated to investigate the interface bonding mechanism and correlation between microstructural and mechanical properties. Microstructural characterization of the initial few deposited layers showed the circular melt pool features in which inter-presence of copper and steel-rich regions were observed, owing to the intensification of the Marangoni convection in the melt pool during the selective laser melting. Analysis of the interface region by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) reveals the formation of nano-sized Fe-rich particles inside the copper-rich matrix. The diffusion of Fe, Cr, and Ni elements from the steel to the copper side, confirmed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), led to the solid solution strengthening of copper near the interface which was also reflected in the micro-hardness profile. The bi-metallic interface manifested higher strength than copper alloy due to good interface bonding, possibly by the presence of an interconnected network of copper and steel-rich regions at different length scales.
Published Version
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