Tensile Properties of Al-12Si Fabricated via Selective Laser Melting (SLM) at Different Temperatures

Konda Gokuldoss Prashanth,Jürgen Eckert,Sergio Scudino

doi:10.3390/technologies4040038

Abstract

Additive manufacturing processes such as selective laser melting (SLM) are attracting increasing attention and are regarded as the manufacturing technology of the future, because of their ability to produce near net shaped components of theoretically any shape with added functionality. Various properties, including mechanical, tribological, welding, and corrosion properties, of Al-12Si alloys fabricated via SLM have been extensively studied. However, all of these studies were carried out at ambient conditions. Nevertheless, under working conditions, these alloys experience service temperatures ranging between 373 and 473 K. The present study focuses on the evaluation of the mechanical properties of SLM-fabricated Al-12Si alloys in this temperature range. For this, Al-12Si alloy specimens were annealed at 573 K, a temperature well beyond the test temperature in order to provide a stable microstructure during tensile testing. The plasticity of these materials increases along with the size of the dimples on the fracture surface with increasing tensile test temperature. Moreover, the annealed Al-12Si alloy exhibits appreciable tensile properties when tested between 373 K and 473 K. The results suggest that Al-12Si samples fabricated via SLM may be ideal candidates for automotive applications such as pistons and cylinder heads.

Highlights

Selective laser melting (SLM), as one of the additive manufacturing processes, is gaining increasing attention from scientists and engineers, because of its ability to produce three-dimensional metallic components of theoretically any shape and with added functionality from three-dimensional computer-aided design data [1,2,3]
The SLM process is controlled by several process parameters in order to produce components without defects such as pores or cracks [8,9,10]
Substrate plate heating was not employed during the fabrication process, and the samples were built standing on the substrate plate in the vertical direction

Summary

Introduction

Selective laser melting (SLM), as one of the additive manufacturing processes, is gaining increasing attention from scientists and engineers, because of its ability to produce three-dimensional metallic components of theoretically any shape and with added functionality from three-dimensional computer-aided design data [1,2,3]. The SLM process involves high cooling rates, which opens up the window of processing even for metallic glasses [6,7]. The SLM process is controlled by several process parameters in order to produce components without defects such as pores or cracks [8,9,10]. Hatch style plays a significant role in the SLM fabrication process [13]

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Results

Conclusion