This work seeks to characterize the impact of build interruptions to additively manufactured Al-Si-10-Mg produced by the powder bed fusion (PBF) process. Additive manufacturing represents a significant investment in overhead, machine, and material making an interruption to the process a potential waste of money and time. Interruptions in the form of power outages, lack of powdered feedstock, and/or shielding gas will cause the machine to operate in an unintended manner, potentially even stopping the build process. The process of manufacturing will influence the microstructure, which determine the material’s properties and performance. An interrupted PBF process could exhibit unique microstructural features and reduced mechanical properties that distinguish the resulting material from a continuous PBF process. Experiments were performed to simulate a production interruption with varying time periods of interruption and air exposure. The zone of interruption was characterized using optical micrographs, EDS, and hardness measurements to determine any effects of the interruption.

The master's thesis deals with properties of aluminium alloys prepared by SLM process. The teoretical part of thesis is focused on decribtion of selective laser melting technology, metallurgical defects and mechanical properties of aluminium alloys processed by this technology. The experimental part of this thesis deals with selections of the SLM process parameters suitable for samples preparation in bulk. Tensile testing at room temperature was used for evaluation of basic mechanical properties. Metallographic and fractographic analyses were performed for evaluation of the microstructure and fracture mechanisms. The materials characteristics obtained on SLM samples were compared with the properties of the same materials grade produced by conventional technologies.

Additive manufacturing can be used to produce complex, custom geometries, consolidating different parts into one. This reduces the required number of assemblies and allows distributed manufacturing with short lead times. Defects, such as porosity and surface roughness, associated with parts manufactured by laser powder bed fusion, can severely limit industrial application. The effect these defects have on corrosion and hence long term structural integrity must also be taken into consideration. This project aimed to characterise porosity in both solid and lattice cube samples produced by laser powder bed fusion, with the differences in porosity induced by changes in the process parameters, and subsequently, characterising the effect porosity has on corrosion. The alloy used in this investigation is AlSi10Mg, which is widely used in the aerospace and automotive industries. Samples were studied before and after corrosion using X-Ray computed tomography (CT scanning), metallographic examination and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as compression testing for the lattice cubes. It was found that higher laser power leads to more porosity and lower surface roughness. CT scanning was a very effective method to study corrosion using aligned CT images of before-after states. Porosity did not have an effect on the corrosion during the early corrosion stages (168 hours). The manufacturing process parameters induced differences in porosity and surface conditions, but did not strongly affect corrosion. It is probable that crack initiation sites such as internal porosity and defects are filled with corrosion product, delaying the onset of cracking and failure, and the corrosion product that fill the voids adding to the full strength of the lattice will also slightly increase the compressive strength of the samples. / Dissertation (MEng (Metallurgical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering / MEng (Metallurgical Engineering) / Unrestricted

This diploma thesis deals with design of axle carrier for Formula Student. The axle carrier is topologically optimized and additively manufactured with Selective Laser Melting technology. Material for its production is aluminium alloy AlSi10Mg, which has worse mechanical properties than commonly used high-strength alloys. Therefore the aim was, by using topology optimization, to design a component, which would have comparable properties with milled component. The stress strain analysis was carried out by the finite element method and maximum deformation and safety coef-ficients were acquired. The prototype was made and its dimensions were controlled by optical digitization, which proved accuracy of manufacturing. The strength calcu-lations were verified by special testing device and photogrammetry measurement. The load during the tests was 20 % higher than in the analysis and no limit state was observed. This verified its safety and functionality.

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Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), one of the most promising additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, has enabled the production of previously impossible structures. This breakthrough in AM has not only facilitated the creation of new designs, but also the redesign of existing industrial and engineering components to produce lightweight and highly efficient dies and molds, biomaterial scaffolds, aircraft brackets, heat sink and heat exchangers. In many of the mentioned applications in industries such as automotive, aerospace, heat exchanger, and electronics, aluminum (Al), Al alloys, and Al matrix composites (AMCs) are considered potential candidates. In the first phase of this study, the optimum powder particle size and size distribution of an Al alloy powder (i.e., AlSi10Mg) was determined with the aim being to achieve highest densification levels and dimensional accuracies. In the second phase, three materials with high thermal conductivities were selected, namely, pure Al, AlSi12 and AlSi10Mg alloys. Since Al/Al alloys are prone to oxidation, the LPBF process parameters were optimized not only in terms of the densification level but also oxygen content of the fabricated parts. It was found out that the rate of oxide diminishment for Al/Al alloys during the LPBF process is more than in-situ oxidation. Despite the efforts, the optimized LPBF fabricated samples showed lower thermal conductivity than their conventionally manufactured counterparts. To tackle the issue, two different potential solutions were put into test. In the third phase, the influence of preheating on thermal properties of pure Al, AlSi12, and AlSi10Mg was investigated and a huge improvement in the thermal conductivity of the optimized as-built parts was obtained. In the fourth phase, the possibility of enhancing thermal conductivity of the LPBF fabricated Al/Al alloys in as-built condition through the incorporation of a second constituent with a higher thermal conductivity (i.e., graphene) was investigated. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Předložená dizertační práce je součástí většího výzkumného projektu, který si klade za cíl využití mikro prutové konstrukce vyrobené technologií SLM jako absorbér rázové energie s přesně navrženými vlastnostmi. Hlavním cílem práce je vývoj numerického modelu deformačního chování mikro-prutové konstrukce vyrobeného technologií Selective Laser Melting (SLM) z materiálu AlSi10Mg. Aby bylo možné dosáhnout hlavního cíle dizertační práce, bylo nutné analyzovat vliv procesních parametrů technologie SLM na tvorbu vnitřních materiálových vad a drsnost povrchu při výrobě mikro-prutové konstrukce. Tyto imperfekce degradují její mechanické vlastnosti a jejich odstranění zlepší možnosti a přesnost numerické predikce. Výsledky ukazují významný vliv dvou hlavních parametrů – skenovací rychlosti laseru a výkonu laseru. Na základě těchto poznatků byly dále definovány parametry vstupní energie Ein a lineární energie Elin, které zahrnují oba zmíněné parametry a byly definovány jejich limitní hodnoty pro minimalizaci vzniklých imperfekcí. Deformační chování vyrobené mikro-prutové konstrukce bylo analyzováno na navrženém pádové zařízení, které umožňuje testování s dopadovou energií až 120 J. Deformační chování je vyhodnocováno s využitím obrazové analýzy záznamu vysoko rychlostní kamery a silového průběhu z tenzometru. Výsledky analýzy byly využity pro validaci numerického modelu v programu ANSYS Explicit, do kterého byly implementovány poznatky o reálném tvaru vyrobeného mikro-prutového materiálu ve formě eliptického modelu geometrie a informace o reálných mechanických vlastnostech ve formě vyvinutého materiálového modelu. Výsledné porovnání výsledků experimentu s predikcí numerického modelu ukazují dobrou shodu v místě maximálního zatížení Fmax (odchylka 5 %) i průběhu celé deformace vzorku. Tyto poznatky budou v budoucnu využity při návrhu absorbéru energie s definovanými mechanickými vlastnostmi.

Estágio realizado na empresa Traterme Tratamentos Térmicos, Lda. - e orientado pelo Eng. J. Alexandre Silva / Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Metalúrgica e de Materiais. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 2012

Manufacturing of aircraft parts is often complex and time-consuming, which has led to an increased interest in new manufacturing technologies in the Swedish industry such as additive manufacturing (AM). Additive manufacturing techniques could be a solution to meet the aircrafts’ demand since it contributes to an efficient manufacturing and allows a just-in-time production of complex metal parts in their final shape. However, the use of AM aluminum for aircraft applications is in a development phase and no surface treatment process exists. Thereby, it is of high interest to further investigate surface treatments for AM alloys. Currently at Saab AB, conventional aluminum alloys are generally anodized in tartaric sulphuric acid (TSA) to improve the corrosion resistance and adhesion properties of the metal. On the behalf of Saab AB, there is also an interest in establishing powder coating as a surface treatment. This master thesis’ purpose is to investigate the anodizing and adhesion properties for the two additive manufacturing alloys - AlSi10Mg and ScalmalloyⓇ, and compare it with the conventionally produced Al alloy 2024-T3. The anodization and the powder coating is examined by using following characterization techniques: profilometry, light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and contact angle measurements. The results from the experimental part indicated successful anodizations for all the alloys and good adhesion properties for powder coating. This research is a first step in contributing to a better understanding of the anodic coating and adhesion properties for the AM samples ScalmalloyⓇ and AlSi10Mg

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