Effects of process parameters on strengthening mechanisms of additively manufactured AlSi10Mg

Abstract

In industries like automotive and aerospace, the demand for structures with a high strength-weight ratio is increasing. Additive manufacturing (AM) studies and applications of AlSi10Mg material have increased due to the improvement of mechanical properties when the production is performed at high cooling rates in the laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF) method. The study aims to investigate the effect of the AM process parameters on the microstructure features, and determine the mathematical relationship between yield strength and process parameters to obtain better mechanical properties. In this study, AlSi10Mg specimens are manufactured using L-PBF method with different process parameters. Microstructure images of the manufactured specimens are obtained by scanning electron microscopy. Melt pool width, eutectic cell size and diameter of Si precipitates are measured using the microstructure images. Parametric equations are generated between the process parameters and microstructural features including eutectic cell size and Si precipitate diameter. Thus, relationships between strengthening mechanisms and process parameters are established by integrating the generated equations into the related strengthening mechanisms. Consequently, the yield strength model of AlSi10Mg material is developed as a function of the process parameters of L-PBF method. It is found that the developed model estimates close results to the nano-indentation results.