Effect ofIn Situ 2%TiB2 Particles on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 2024Al Additive Manufacturing Alloy
SUN Tengteng1, WANG Hongze1,2(), WU Yi1,2(), WANG Mingliang1,2, WANG Haowei1,2
1.State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China 2.Institute of Alumics Materials, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Anhui), Huaibei 235000, China
Cite this article:
SUN Tengteng, WANG Hongze, WU Yi, WANG Mingliang, WANG Haowei. Effect ofIn Situ 2%TiB2 Particles on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 2024Al Additive Manufacturing Alloy. Acta Metall Sin, 2023, 59(1): 169-179.
Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is an innovative additive manufacturing method with great potential for fabricating complex geometrical components with integrated functionalities. In the aerospace industry, the Al-Cu-Mg (2024Al) alloy is widely used because of its excellent mechanical properties and low density; however, its disadvantages include low printability and high crack susceptibility. This work investigates the effects of in situ TiB2 particles on the microstructure and tensile properties of the solution-treated (510oC treat 1 h and then cooling by water) and T6-treated (i.e., solution and aging treatments) L-PBF fabricated 2024Al alloy at room temperature. Equiaxed grains with an average size of approximately 5.8 μm dominate in the printed 2024Al-2%TiB2 alloy because of the high cooling rate during the L-PBF process and the heterogeneous nucleation effect of the TiB2 particles. After the T6 heat treatment, many uniformly distributed, fine, and long precipitation strips formed in both the 2024Al and 2024Al-2%TiB2 alloys. The 2024Al-2%TiB2 alloy has ultimate tensile and yield strengths of (458.2 ± 6.5) and (398.4 ± 2.7) MPa, respectively; further, it has a maximum elongation of (3.4 ± 0.4)%. These parameters indicate a substantial improvement in the strength and elongation of the 2024Al-2%TiB2 alloy compared to those of the 2024Al alloy. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the T6-treated 2024Al-2%TiB2 alloy are comparable to those of the wrought T6-treated 2024Al-T6 alloy. The main strengthening mechanisms of the 2024Al-2%TiB2 alloy include solid solution strengthening, dislocation strengthening, grain boundary strengthening, precipitation strengthening, Orowan strengthening, and load-bearing strengthening induced by TiB2 particles. In conclusion, 2024Al-2%TiB2 alloy manufactured using the L-PBF method provides excellent printability and room-temperature tensile properties.
Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(52075327);National Natural Science Foundation of China(52004160);Shanghai Sailing Program(20YF1419200);Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai(20ZR1427500);Major Science and Technology Project of Huaibei(Z2020001);Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) Beamline BL13W1(2020-SSRF-PT-012107)
Fig.1 Schematic of tensile test specimen and the site of the microstructure characterization part (unit: mm)
Fig.2 Cross-sectional OM images (a, b), 3D computed tomography (CT) results (c, d), and statistic distributions (e, f) of the defect size of 2024Al (a, c, e) and 2024Al-2%TiB2 (b, d, f) alloys printed by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF)
Fig.3 EBSD results of 2024Al-2%TiB2 alloy printed by L-PBF (a) grain distribution diagram (b) grain boundary map and TiB2 distribution map (HAGB—high angle grain boundary) (c) TiB2 particle located in the grain boundary (d) TiB2 particle inside the grain
Fig.4 DSC curve of 2024Al alloy printed by L-PBF
Fig.5 OM (a, b) and SEM-BSE (c, d) images of as-ST 2024Al (a, c) and as-ST 2024Al-2%TiB2 (b, d) alloys (ST—solution treatment)
Fig.6 Vickers hardness of 2024Al and 2024Al-2%TiB2 alloys aged at 190oC for different time (a) and tensile stress-strain curves (b) (T6—solution treatment plus aging treatment)
Condition
Sample
UTS / MPa
YS / MPa
EL / %
Ref.
L-PBF
2024Al
180 ± 3.2
0.3 ± 0.18
[14]
2024Al-2%TiB2
327 ± 6.02
225.6 ± 4.96
4.15 ± 0.2
[14]
ST
2024Al
240.1 ± 2.6
236.8 ± 3.1
0.3 ± 0.1
This work
2024Al-2%TiB2
457.6 ± 3.6
339.5 ± 1.0
5.1 ± 0.3
This work
T6
2024Al
261.3 ± 4.3
252.6 ± 2.5
0.3 ± 0.1
This work
2024Al
~427
~345
~5
[24,25]
2024Al-2%TiB2
458.2 ± 6.5
398.4 ± 2.7
3.4 ± 0.4
This work
Annealed
2024Al
~220
~95
~12
[24,25]
Table 1 Mechanical properties of the 2024Al alloy and 2024Al-2%TiB2 alloy sample after different heat treatment
Fig.7 Macrostructures (a, c) and microstructures (b, d) of fracture of as-T6 2024Al (a, b) and as-T6 2024Al-2%TiB2 (c, d) alloys (Inset in Fig.7d shows the corresponding high magnified image)
Fig.8 XRD spectra of the 2024Al and 2024Al-2%TiB2 alloy samples after solution treatment and T6 treatment
Fig.9 SEM-BSE images of as-T6 2024Al (a, b) and as-T6 2024Al-2%TiB2 (c, d) alloys
Fig.10 True tensile stress-strain curves and work hardening rate (θ) of as-T6 2024Al and as-T6 2024Al-2%TiB2 alloys
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