A critical investigation of the anisotropic behavior in the WAAM-fabricated structure
ISSN: 1355-2546
Article publication date: 8 May 2024
Issue publication date: 17 May 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Wire-arc-based additive manufacturing (WAAM) is a promising technology for the efficient and economical fabrication of medium-large components. However, the anisotropic behavior of the multilayered WAAM-fabricated components remains a challenging problem.
Design/methodology/approach
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive study of the grain morphology, crystallographic orientation and texture in three regions of the WAAM printed component. Furthermore, the interdependence of the grain morphology in different regions of the fabricated component with their mechanical and tribological properties was established.
Findings
The electron back-scattered diffraction analysis of the top and bottom regions revealed fine recrystallized grains, whereas the middle regions acquired columnar grains with an average size of approximately 8.980 µm. The analysis revealed a higher misorientation angle and an intense crystallographic texture in the upper and lower regions. The investigations found a higher microhardness value of 168.93 ± 1.71 HV with superior wear resistance in the bottom region. The quantitative evaluation of the residual stress detected higher compressive stress in the upper regions. Evidence for comparable ultimate tensile strength and greater elongation (%) compared to its wrought counterpart has been observed.
Originality/value
The study found a good correlation between the grain morphology in different regions of the WAAM-fabricated component and their mechanical and wear properties. The Hall–Petch relationship also established good agreement between the grain morphology and tensile test results. Improved ductility compared to its wrought counterpart was observed. The anisotropy exists with improved mechanical properties along the longitudinal direction. Moreover, cylindrical components have superior tribological properties compared with cuboidal components.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankfull to the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, for supporting in development of the experimental setup under the SERB-project grant EEQ/2021/000I84 and for providing a 3D Profilometer characterization facility under the FIST project grant SR/FST/ET-II/2018/222(C).
Citation
Kumar, V. and Mandal, A. (2024), "A critical investigation of the anisotropic behavior in the WAAM-fabricated structure", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 30 No. 5, pp. 1023-1045. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-01-2023-0005
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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