Gürkan Tarakçı, Hamaid Mahmood Khan, Mustafa Safa Yılmaz and Gökhan Özer
The present paper aims to systematically investigate the influence of building orientations (0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°) and heat treatment processes on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The present paper aims to systematically investigate the influence of building orientations (0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°) and heat treatment processes on the macro-/micro-structural, mechanical and electrochemical behaviors of selective laser melting (SLM) prepared AlSi10Mg alloy parts.
Design/methodology/approach
AlSi10Mg samples were produced by the SLM method using standard processing parameters at 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 75° building angles. The effects of building orientations on the physical, mechanical and electrochemical properties of the alloy were investigated.
Findings
With the increase in the building orientation from 15° to 75°, the structural defects were found reducing. The effect of step size of inclined geometries was found to significantly influence the mechanical and electrochemical properties of the AlSi10Mg samples. Tensile strength for samples fabricated at lower angles (0°, 15°, 30°) reported a drop of approximately 11% than SLM 0° samples. Moreover, the tensile strength was found to decrease from 412.35 ± 9.568 MPa for the as-built samples to 290.48 ± 12.658 MPa, whereas the fracture strain increases from 3.32 ± 0.56% to 5.6 ± 0.6% when the as-built sample was treated with T6 treatment. This study indicates that the microstructure and mechanical properties of SLM-processed AlSi10Mg alloy can be tailored by a suitable heat treatment or building angle.
Originality/value
Microstructural and mechanical behavior of horizontal or vertically built SLM components have already been demonstrated several times. However, the influence of different building orientations, such as 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, has not been explored in-depth, particularly on corrosion and general mechanical performance. As a result, this work may be of significant relevance to academics and designers, given the varying orientation of internal component of SLM structures.
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Onur Ertuğrul, Zafer Çağatay Öter, Mustafa Safa Yılmaz, Ezgi Şahin, Mert Coşkun, Gürkan Tarakçı and Ebubekir Koç
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of post process combinations, e.g. hot isostatic pressing (HIP) only, HIP + T6 heat treatments, and T6 only, with different…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of post process combinations, e.g. hot isostatic pressing (HIP) only, HIP + T6 heat treatments, and T6 only, with different aging time, on surface properties, microstructure and mechanical properties of stress-relieved AlSi10Mg parts produced by direct laser metal sintering.
Design/methodology/approach
HIP process and HIP + T6 heat treatments were applied to as stress-relieved direct laser metal sintered (DMLS) AlSi10Mg parts. Aging times of 4 and 12 h are selected to examine the optimum duration. To analyze the advantages of HIP process, a T6 heat treatment with 4 h of aging was also applied. Densities, open porosities and roughness values of as stress-relieved, HIPed, HIP + T6, and T6-only samples were measured. The samples were characterized by OM and SEM together with EDX analysis. An image analysis study was made to evaluate the inner pore structure, thereby to understand the mechanical behavior.
Findings
HIP process does not cause a significant change in surface porosity; yet it has a positive influence on inner porosity. HIP process results in a microstructure of the aluminum matrix surrounded by a network of micron and nano size Si particles. Additional heat treatment results in larger particles and precipitation. After HIPing, ductility increases but strength decreases. Samples aged 4 h present improved yield and tensile strength but decreased elongation, yet samples aged for 12 h reach a combination of optimum strength and ductility. The lower level of tensile strength and ductility in T6-only condition indicates that HIP process plays a crucial role in elimination of the porosity thus improves the effectiveness of subsequent heat treatment.
Originality/value
The study investigates the effect of post-process conditions and optimizes the aging time of the T6 heat treatment after HIP process in order to obtain improved mechanical properties. The stress-relieved state was chosen as the reference to prevent distortion during HIPing or heat treatment.
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Mustafa Safa Yılmaz, Gökhan Özer, Zafer Çağatay Öter and Onur Ertuğrul
This paper aims to investigate the effects of various heat treatments on microstructure, hardness, porosity and corrosion properties of the parts.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the effects of various heat treatments on microstructure, hardness, porosity and corrosion properties of the parts.
Design/methodology/approach
Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) process, various heat treatments and their combinations were applied to the AlSi10Mg parts produced by direct laser metal sintering (DMLS).
Findings
It has been found that the HIP process, which is a post-processing process, reduces the amount of porosity in DMLS-AlSi10Mg material, thus improves corrosion resistance significantly.
Originality/value
In this study, the HIP process and subsequent T6 heat treatments were applied to AlSi10Mg parts produced by the DMLS technique. The study aims to increase the corrosion resistance of AlSi10Mg parts by reducing porosity with the HIP process and by altering the microstructure with the T6 process.