Properties of wire+ arc additively manufactured 2024 aluminum alloy with different solution treatment temperature

2024 aluminum alloy deposits were produced with wire + arc additive manufacturing procedure. Solution treatment + natural aging processes with different solution treatment temperature were conducted to improve the properties. The microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. After heat treatment the distributing characteristic of the second phase changed to be dispersive from continuous in as-deposited condition. Solution treatment + natural aging process can significantly improve the properties of WAAM 2024 aluminum alloy. With higher solution treatment temperature, the micro hardness, tensile properties and elongation presented an increasing trend. After 503 °C solution treatment + natural aging process, the micro hardness, ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and elongation were 143HV, 497 MPa, 330 MPa and 16%, respectively, which can nearly meet the applying requirement

Wire+Arc Additive Manufacturing of Aluminum

Wire+Arc Additive Manufacturing is very suitable for the production of large scale aluminium parts. However implementation is currently limited by issues such as porosity and low mechanical properties. We have studied the utilization of new deposition processes such as pulsed advanced cold metal transfer which allows modification of the thermal profile resulting in refined equiaxed microstructure and elimination of porosity. Standard and new feedstock compositions are being evaluated and developed with ultimate tensile strengths of up to 260 MPa with 17% elongation being obtained in the as-deposited condition. Post build heat treatments compositional changes and high-pressure inter-pass rolling are being investigated in order to increase the strength further.Mechanical Engineerin

A comparative study of additively manufactured thin wall and block structure with Al-6.3% Cu alloy using cold metal transfer process

In order to build a better understanding of the relationship between depositing mode and porosity, microstructure, and properties in wire + arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) 2319-Al components, several Al-6.3%Cu deposits were produced by WAAM technique with cold metal transfer (CMT) variants, pulsed CMT (CMT-P) and advanced CMT (CMT-ADV). Thin walls and blocks were selected as the depositing paths to make WAAM samples. Porosity, microstructure and micro hardness of these WAAM samples were investigated. Compared with CMT-P and thin wall mode, CMT-ADV and block process can effectively reduce the pores in WAAM aluminum alloy. The microstructure varied with different depositing paths and CMT variants. The micro hardness value of thin wall samples was around 75 HV from the bottom to the middle, and gradually decreased toward the top. Meanwhile, the micro hardness value ranged around 72–77 HV, and varied periodically in block samples. The variation in micro hardness is consistent with standard microstructure characteristics

Microstructure and mechanical properties of double-wire + arc additively manufactured Al-Cu-Mg alloys

As the properties of wire + arc additively manufactured Al-6.3Cu alloy cannot meet the applying requirements, a double-wire + arc additive manufacturing system was built to add magnesium into Al-Cu deposits for higher mechanical properties. Two commercial binary wires aluminum-copper ER2319 and aluminum-magnesium ER5087 were chosen as the filler metal to build Al-Cu-Mg components with different compositions by adjusting the wire feed speed. The microstructure and morphology of thin wall samples were characterized by optical micrographs (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The Vickers hardness and tensile properties were investigated. The microstructure of Al-Cu-Mg deposits was mainly composed of coarse columnar grains and fine equiaxed grains with non-uniformly distributing characteristics. With higher Cu but lower Mg content, the strengthen phase turned to Al2Cu + Al2CuMg from Al2CuMg, and the micro hardness presented an increasing trend. The isotropic characteristics of ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield strength (YS) and elongation were revealed in these samples. The UTS was about 280 ± 5 MPa both in horizontal and vertical directions for all samples. The YS showed an increasing trend from 156 MPa to 187 MPa with the same content trend, while elongation decreased from 8.2% to 6%. The fractographs exhibited typical brittle fracture characteristics

Microstructure and mechanical properties of wire + arc additively manufactured 2024 aluminum alloy components: As-deposited and post heat-treated

Restricted by the type of commercial aluminum wire, 2024 aluminum alloy cannot be built through conventional single wire + arc additive manufacturing technology. By simultaneously feeding two wires (ER2319 and ER5087) and adjusting the wire feed speed, 2024 aluminum alloy deposits can be achieved with double - wire + arc additive manufacturing process. Heat treatment procedures (solution + natural/artificial aging) were conducted for further improving the properties. The microstructure and mechanical properties of as-deposited and heat-treated 2024 aluminum alloy deposits were tested and analyzed. The microstructure differed in different conditions. Obvious dendrite morphology in as-deposited condition disappeared after heat treatment, and the phases turned to be α-Al + Al2Cu from α-Al + Al2Cu + Al2CuMg. After heat treatment, layer distributing characteristics of the phases became obvious. Post-deposition heat treatment can improve the micro hardness, strength and horizontal elongation of WAAM 2024 aluminum alloy deposits. The elongation along vertical direction decreased

Influence of low-pulsed frequency on arc profile and weld formation characteristics in double-pulsed VPTIG welding of aluminium alloys

AA2219 aluminium alloy plates were processed by double pulsed variable polarity tungsten inert gas (DP-VPTIG) welding, and the influence of low-pulsed frequency on arc profile, weld appearance and penetration characteristics were investigated. An image processing algorithm was proposed for arc edge extraction and arc feature sizes acquisition. The arc energy equations in low-frequency pulse peak stage (tp) and base stage (tb) were established based on the electrical parameters. The arc profile periodically expanded in tp and shrunk in tb, resulted from the difference in arc energy of the two stages. The pulsation effects in arc profile, weld appearance and penetration, caused by the pulsed arc were observed to exhibit a decreasing trend with the increase of low-pulsed frequency (fL). The pulsation effects were obvious when fL was 0.5 Hz, then became weak and tended to disappear as fL increased above 3 Hz. The empirical correlations between fL and the pulsation effects of arc profile, weld appearance and penetration were respectively developed. It is recommended to use fL in the range of 1–2 Hz to properly exert the low-frequency pulsation effect. The results provide a valuable basis for controlling and optimizing the DP-VPTIG process in the high efficiency welding of aluminum alloy

Refining microstructure of medium-thick AA2219 aluminium alloy welded joint by ultrasonic frequency double-pulsed arc

The increasing demand for achieving high-efficiency and high-quality medium-thick aluminium alloy welded structures, especially for large scale aerospace components, presents an urgent challenge to the conventional TIG arc welding process. This work proposed a novel double-pulsed variable polarity tungsten inert gas (DP-VPTIG) arc, in which the variable polarity square wave current was simultaneously modulated into ultrasonic frequency (20–80 kHz) and low frequency (0.5–10 Hz) pulses. Full penetration welds of 6 mm thick AA2219 aluminum alloy were successfully obtained by using this process. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the weld produced by DP-VPTIG arc were investigated, taking the conventional VPTIG arc as a comparative study. Results show that the microstructure of weld zone by DP-VPTIG arc showed an alternating distribution of fine equiaxed grain band and slightly coarse equiaxed grain band. Compared to VPTIG arc, the grain structure was effectively refined in the weld zone with DP-VPTIG arc, showing a significant reduction of average grain size by 51.2% along transverse section and 61.3% along longitudinal section. The morphology of α-Al+θ-CuAl2 eutectics transformed from continuously distributed netlike shape to separately distributed granular shape, and segregation of Cu solute element was obviously improved. The average microhardness of weld zone was increased by about 8.7% and 5.6% along transverse section and along longitudinal section. The tensile properties of ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and elongation were increased by 6.6%, 10.6% and 20.5%, respectively. The results provide a valuable basis for improving welding efficiency and joint quality through a hybrid pulsed arc

A Comparative Study of Additively Manufactured Thin Wall and Block Structure with Al-6.3%Cu Alloy Using Cold Metal Transfer Process

In order to build a better understanding of the relationship between depositing mode and porosity, microstructure, and properties in wire + arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) 2319-Al components, several Al-6.3%Cu deposits were produced by WAAM technique with cold metal transfer (CMT) variants, pulsed CMT (CMT-P) and advanced CMT (CMT-ADV). Thin walls and blocks were selected as the depositing paths to make WAAM samples. Porosity, microstructure and micro hardness of these WAAM samples were investigated. Compared with CMT-P and thin wall mode, CMT-ADV and block process can effectively reduce the pores in WAAM aluminum alloy. The microstructure varied with different depositing paths and CMT variants. The micro hardness value of thin wall samples was around 75 HV from the bottom to the middle, and gradually decreased toward the top. Meanwhile, the micro hardness value ranged around 72–77 HV, and varied periodically in block samples. The variation in micro hardness is consistent with standard microstructure characteristics

Optimization of Hybrid Ultrasonic Frequency Pulsed VP-GTAW Process Parameters on Tensile Properties of AA 5456 Alloy

Tensile properties optimization of AA 5456 aluminum alloy was carried out with hybrid ultrasonic frequency pulsed variable polarity gas tungsten arc wending (HPVP-GTAW). An orthogonal method was employed to conduct the experiments, and the tensile properties of AA 5456 aluminum alloy welded joints were measured and analyzed. Regression models were developed based on the least square estimation by taking tensile strength, yield strength, percent elongation, and ratio of reduction in area as response functions of variable polarity frequency fL, pulse frequency fH and a dimensionless parameter ψ, which were calculated by background current Ib, peak current Ip, and pulse duration δ, respectively. The developed regression equations were checked for validity by coefficient of correlation r2 and confirmatory experiments. Optimum parameters of HPVP-GTAW were achieved through the discussion on response surfaces and contour plots drawn using the regression equations