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Special Issue "Additive Manufacturing of Aluminum Alloys and Aluminum Matrix Composites"

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Metals and Alloys".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2023 | Viewed by 4081

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hongze Wang

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Guest Editor

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai JiaoTong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: additive manufacturing; laser manufacturing; welding

Dr. Mostafa Hassani

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Guest Editor

Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
Interests: additive manufacturing; solid-phase processing; extreme mechanics; tribology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Greta Lindwall
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Guest Editor

Department of Materials Science anf Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Interests: alloy development; additive manufacturing; computational thermodynamics and kinetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With significant advantages in specific strength and stiffness, aluminum alloys and aluminum matrix composites have been widely used in transportation, aerospace, and other applications. Additive manufacturing (AM) has great potential for the rapid customization and repairment of parts. At present, various additive manufacturing methods have been developed that could be generally categorized into fusion, solid-state, and binder jetting AM. The heat source in fusion AM includes laser, electron beam, and electric arc. The style of providing the supplementary material in fusion AM includes powder bed, deposited powder, and deposited wire. Solid-state AM generally includes cold spray, ultrasonic AM, and friction AM. Because of the diversity of the manufacturing methods and the unique properties of materials, it is important to have comprehensive and comparative studies on the AM of aluminum alloys and aluminum matrix composites, which could provide a guide for selecting the most suitable AM method for industrial application.

For this Special Issue, we invite our colleagues to submit papers in the areas of additive manufacturing of aluminum alloys and aluminum matrix composites. The topics of interest include but are not limited to fusion and solid-state additive manufacturing processes, advanced characterization, modeling and simulation, optimization of the manufacturing process, topological optimization, in situ observation, monitoring control, post-treatment, and hybrid manufacturing. Review papers and short communications are also of interest to this Special Issue.

Dr. Hongze Wang
Dr. Mostafa Hassani
Dr. Greta Lindwall
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2300 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

additive manufacturing
aluminum alloy
aluminum composite
selective melting
powder deposition
wire deposition
cold spray
post-treatment
hybrid manufacturing
advanced characterization

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Fractal Ceramic Structure on Mechanical Properties of Alumina Ceramic–Aluminum Composites

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Materials 2023, 16(6), 2296; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16062296 - 13 Mar 2023

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Abstract

In conventional ceramic–metal matrix composites, with the addition of the ceramic phase, although it can significantly improve the performance of the material in one aspect, it tends to weaken some of the excellent properties of the metal matrix as well. In order to meet the high toughness and high strength requirements of composites for practical production applications, researchers have searched for possible reinforcing structures from nature. They found that fractal structures, which are widely found in nature, have the potential to improve the mechanical properties of materials. However, it is often not feasible to manufacture these geometric structures using conventional processes. In this study, alumina ceramic fractal structures were prepared by 3D printing technology, and aluminum composites containing fractal ceramic structures were fabricated by spark plasma sintering technology. We have studied the effect of the fractal structure of alumina ceramics on the mechanical properties of composites. The compression strength of samples was measured by a universal testing machine and the torsional properties of samples were measured by a torsional modulus meter. The results show that a fractal structure improves the compressive strength of aluminum/alumina ceramic composites by 10.97% and the torsional properties by 17.45%. The results of the study will provide a new method for improving the mechanical properties of materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Aluminum Alloys and Aluminum Matrix Composites)

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Open AccessArticle

Modification of Iron-Rich Phase in Al-7Si-3Fe Alloy by Mechanical Vibration during Solidification

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Materials 2023, 16(5), 1963; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16051963 - 27 Feb 2023

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Abstract

The plate-like iron-rich intermetallic phases in recycled aluminum alloys significantly deteriorate the mechanical properties. In this paper, the effects of mechanical vibration on the microstructure and properties of the Al-7Si-3Fe alloy were systematically investigated. Simultaneously, the modification mechanism of the iron-rich phase was also discussed. The results indicated that the mechanical vibration was effective in refining the α-Al phase and modifying the iron-rich phase during solidification. The forcing convection and a high heat transfer inside the melt to the mold interface caused by mechanical vibration inhibited the quasi-peritectic reaction: L + α-Al₈Fe₂Si → (Al) + β-Al₅FeSi and eutectic reaction: L → (Al) + β-Al₅FeSi + Si. Thus, the plate-like β-Al₅FeSi phases in traditional gravity-casting were replaced by the polygonal bulk-like α-Al₈Fe₂Si. As a result, the ultimate tensile strength and elongation were increased to 220 MPa and 2.6%, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Aluminum Alloys and Aluminum Matrix Composites)

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Open AccessArticle

Experimental and Numerical Study on the Influence of Stress Concentration on the Flexural Stability of an Aluminium Hollow Tube

Ganesh Radhakrishnan

Daniel Breaz

Sami Sulaiman Al Khusaibi

Amjad Juma Al Subaihi

Al Azhar Zahir Al Ismaili

AlSalt Malik AlMaani

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Kadhavoor R. Karthikeyan

Materials 2023, 16(4), 1492; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16041492 - 10 Feb 2023

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Abstract

In recent times, particularly in applications used to build various structures for construction purposes or machines, solid sections have been gradually replaced by hollow sections due to their attractive features such as being light weight and having high specific strength. In the present investigation, an attempt was made to investigate, in detail, the flexural capability of aluminium hollow tubes (AHTs) with square cross-sections. The objective of the investigation was to study the influence of stress concentration on the flexural behaviour of the hollow tube. The stress concentration factor considered in this investigation was holes of various cross-sections and quantities. Three-point bending tests with concentrated loads were conducted on specimens of a hollow tube with different stress concentrations such as circular holes, multiple circular holes, square holes and perforations. The load was applied manually during the bending test with appropriate increments. The bending test was carried out on specimens with support spans of 110, 130, 170 and 200 mm. The output measures of the study were maximum bending load, deflection and flexural stiffness. The output measures were analysed in detail in order to recommend the type and nature of stress concentration in a hollow tube applied to structural applications to ensure the safest workability. The flexural stability of the tube was analysed by experimental and numerical procedures, and the results were validated using an analytical approach. It was found that the results of all the approaches complement each other with a low significance of error. AHTs with a circular hole, multiple circular holes and perforations were observed to have better flexural stability than other AHTs such as AHTs with square hole and plain AHTs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Aluminum Alloys and Aluminum Matrix Composites)

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Open AccessArticle

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Hypereutectic Al-High Si Alloys up to 70 wt.% Si-Content Produced from Pre-Alloyed and Blended Powder via Laser Powder Bed Fusion

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Materials 2023, 16(2), 657; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16020657 - 10 Jan 2023

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Abstract

Hypereutectic Al-high Si alloys are of immense interest for applications in the automotive, space or electronic industries, due their low weight, low thermal expansion, and excellent mechanical and tribological properties. Additionally, their production by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology provides high flexibility in geometrical design and alloy composition. Since, most of the alloy properties could be improved by increasing the Si content, there is much interest in discovering the maximum that could be realized in LBPF Al-high Si alloys, without the appearance of any material failure. For this reason, in this work the production of Al-high Si alloys with extremely high silicon content of up to 70 wt.% was fundamentally investigated with respect to microstructure and mechanical properties. Highly dense (99.3%) and crack-free AlSi50 samples (5 × 5 × 5 mm³), with excellent hardness (225 HV5) and compressive strength (742 MPa), were successfully produced. Further, for the first time, AlSi70 LBPF samples of high density (98.8%) without cracks were demonstrated, using moderate scanning velocities. Simultaneously, the hardness and the compressive strength in the AlSi70 alloys were significantly improved to 350 HV5 and 935 MPa, as a result of the formation of a continuous Si network in the microstructure of the alloy. With respect to the powder source, it was found that the application of powder blends resulted in similar alloy properties as if pre-alloyed powders were used, enabling higher flexibility in prospective application-oriented alloy development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Aluminum Alloys and Aluminum Matrix Composites)

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Open AccessArticle

Influence of the AlSi7Mg0.6 Aluminium Alloy Powder Reuse on the Quality and Mechanical Properties of LPBF Samples

Irina Smolina

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Materials 2022, 15(14), 5019; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15145019 - 19 Jul 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 874

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) is dynamically developing and finding applications in different industries. The quality of input material is a part of the process and of the final product quality. That is why understanding the influence of powder reuse on the properties of bulk specimens is crucial for ensuring the repeatable AM process chain. The presented study investigated the possibility of continuous reuse of AlSi7Mg0.6 powder in the laser powder bed fusion process (LPBF). To date, there is no study of AlSi7Mg0.6 powder reuse in the LPBF process to be found in the literature. This study aims to respond to this gap. The five batches of AlSi7Mg0.6 powder and five bulk LPBF samples series were characterised using different techniques. The following characteristics of powders were analysed: the powder size distribution (PSD), the morphology (scanning electron microscopy—SEM), the flowability (rotating drum analysis), and laser light absorption (spectrophotometry). Bulk samples were characterised for microstructure (SEM), chemical composition (X-ray fluorescence spectrometry—XRF), porosity (computed tomography—CT) and mechanical properties (tensile, hardness). The powder was reused in subsequent processes without adding (recycling/rejuvenation) virgin powder (collective ageing powder reuse strategy). All tested powders (powders P0–P4) and bulk samples (series S0–S3) show repeatable properties, with changes observed within error limits. Samples manufactured within the fifth reuse cycle (series S4) showed some mean value changes of measured characteristics indicating initial degradation. However, these changes also mostly fit within error limits. Therefore, the collective ageing powder reuse strategy is considered to give repeatable LPBF process results and is recommended for the AlSi7Mg0.6 alloy within at least five consecutive LPBF processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Aluminum Alloys and Aluminum Matrix Composites)

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Open AccessArticle

Numerical Simulation on Thermal Stresses and Solidification Microstructure for Making Fiber-Reinforced Aluminum Matrix Composites

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Materials 2022, 15(12), 4166; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15124166 - 12 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 725

Abstract

The fabrication of fiber-reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) mainly consists of two stages: infiltration and solidification, which have a significant influence on the properties of MMCs. The present study is primarily focused on the simulation of the solidification process and the effect of the active cooling of fibers with and without nickel coating for making the continuous carbon fiber-reinforced aluminum matrix composites. The thermomechanical finite element model was established to investigate the effects of different cooling conditions on the temperature profile and thermal stress distributions based on the simplified physical model. The predicted results of the temperature distribution agree well with the results of the references. Additionally, a three-dimensional cellular automata (CA) finite element (FE) model is used to simulate the microstructure evolution of the solidification process by using ProCAST software. The results show that adding a nickel coating can make the heat flux smaller in the melt, which is favorable for preventing debonding at the coating/fiber and alloy interface and obtaining a finer microstructure. In the presence of the nickel coating, the number of grains increases significantly, and the average grain size decreases, which can improve the properties of the resultant composite materials. Meanwhile, the predicting results also show that the interfaces of fiber–coating, fiber–melt, and coating–melt experience higher temperature gradients and thermal stresses. These results will lead to the phenomenon of stress concentration and interface failure. Thus, it was demonstrated that these simulation methods could be helpful for studying the solidification of fiber-reinforced MMCs and reducing the number of trial-and-error experiments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Aluminum Alloys and Aluminum Matrix Composites)

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