Study of microstructure, mechanical deformation, and creep behavior of wire arc additive manufactured (WAAM) ER5356 Al alloy

Abstract

This study presents a comprehensive review of the Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) technique, focusing specifically on its application to the ER5356-Aluminum alloy. The report begins with an introduction to WAAM, outlining its principles, components, applications, and inherent advantages. The literature review section delves into the microstructure and mechanical properties of ER5356 Aluminum alloy produced using the WAAM process. The microstructure of a material plays a pivotal role in determining its mechanical properties, making it essential to understand the relationship between process parameters and resulting microstructural features. Researchers have investigated the effects of deposition speed, layer thickness, and heat input on the grain structure, phase composition, and defects within the deposited material. Furthermore, mechanical properties such as hardness, tensile strength, and creep resistance are examined for WAAM-fabricated ER5356 Aluminum components. Finally, experimental-wise, the report discusses metallography, using various etchant and their effect on microstructure, sample preparation, and heat treatment processes such as solutionizing (T4) and artificial aging (T6). After performing XRD characterizations, the secondary phase (Al3Mg2), whose particle size was in nanometers, was confirmed. After performing and comparing Vicker’s microhardness tests on as-deposited and heat-treated samples, the microhardness value increased by about 15 (HV). Similarly, uniaxial tensile tests were performed for as-deposited and heat-treated specimens, and heat-treated specimens showed an improvement of about 28.2% in UTS and about 66% in elongation. Apparent Activation energy (Qc) of 130.2 (KJ/mol) and creep component (n) 5.67 were calculated based on the uniaxial tensile creep test results. These creep parameters give an indication the dislocation climb could be the dominating creep mechanism.