Laser powder bed fusion of high-strength crack-free Al7075 alloy with the in-situ formation of TiB2/Al3Ti-reinforced phases and nucleation agents

Liang, Yanzhen, Han, Quanquan, Sui, Zhongyang, Zhang, Zhenhua, Zhang, Han, Gu, Heng, Wu, Defan, Wang, Liqiao, Liu, Hanlian and Setchi, Rossitza ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7207-6544 2025. Laser powder bed fusion of high-strength crack-free Al7075 alloy with the in-situ formation of TiB2/Al3Ti-reinforced phases and nucleation agents. Composites Part B: Engineering 289 , 111940. 10.1016/j.compositesb.2024.111940 Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

The existence of solidification cracks caused by columnar grains in precipitation-hardened aluminium alloys limit the applicability of Al7075 components manufactured via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing. A novel approach was developed to co-incorporate submicron-sized B and micron-grade Ti6Al4V to eliminate hot cracks and to effectively transform coarse columnar grains into fine equiaxed grains, thus improving the mechanical performance of LPBF-fabricated modified Al7075 material. The grain refinement was mainly attributable to the heterogeneous nucleation promoted by the combination of in-situ-formed L12-Al3Ti and TiB2 nano-sized phases. After an optimised T6 heat treatment, excellent comprehensive mechanical properties were achieved, with a tensile strength of 460 MPa and an elongation of 13 %. This research provides an efficient and cost-effective path for addressing crack-sensitive metallic materials used for LPBF additive manufacturing processes.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Engineering
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	1359-8368
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	8 November 2024
Date of Acceptance:	4 November 2024
Last Modified:	08 Nov 2024 11:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/173693

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