Microstructure and mechanical properties of wire arc additive manufactured aluminum AA2024

Description

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) has proven to be a viable process for producing structural aluminum components for various applications. Typical aluminum alloys for WAAM belong to the 4xxx and 5xxx alloy group due to their excellent weldability and processability. High strength aluminum alloys of the 2xxx and 7xxx category are currently not used due to their high risk of hot cracking, uncertain welding properties and small processing window. The widespread use of these alloys in aerospace engineering however, make their utilization in WAAM highly desirable. In this work CMT-based wire arc additive manufacturing was applied to generate AA2024 aluminum multilayer coupons. The strength level of the material was investigated by hardness and tensile testing in as-built and peak-aged condition. The microstructure was characterized by means of light optical- and scanning electron microscopy. The porosity was assessed via area measurement on metallographic cross-sections. In as-built condition a fine-grained equiaxed microstructure with limited porosity was found. After peak aging mechanical properties similar to wrought material were obtained. The provided data suggests that AA2024 can processed by WAAM under specific processing conditions reaching exceptionally high mechanical properties in the heat-treated condition. This data paves the way for future application of high-strength alloys processed by WAAM in aerospace applications.

Period	17 Jul 2022 → 22 Jul 2022
Event title	IIW Annual Assembly
Event type	Other
Degree of Recognition	International