Additive manufacturing of a quasicrystalline phase former Al-based alloy

• Grant number: 17/21976-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2017
• End date: July 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Physical Metallurgy
• Principal Investigator: Piter Gargarella
• Grantee: Lucas Moura Martini
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/05987-8 - Processing and characterization of amorphous, metastable and nano-structured metallic alloys, AP.TEM

Abstract

The quasicrystalline phase former Al-based alloys exhibit high yield strength and wear resistance, especially at high temperatures, which makes them promising to be used as polymer extrusion dies. Nevertheless, the quasicrystalline phase is only formed under a high cooling rate (higher than 103 K/s), which restrict the sample size to powders and ribbons with small thickness. Polymer extrusion dies usually show complex geometry, which makes necessary a complicated machining process with limited design possibilities. An alternative route to fabricate these dies is using additive manufacturing methods, by which the part is built layer by layer allowing to produce dies with complex geometry and several internal cooling channels. Among the additive manufacturing processes, there is the Selective Laser Melting (SLM). Apart to produce parts with complex shape and customized density, this process may also impose high cooling rates during solidification (up to 105K/s), which makes possible to obtain the quasicrystalline phase in Al-based alloys. The aim of the present project is to produce bulk samples of the Al91Fe4Cr3Ti2alloy containing quasicrystalline phase by SLM. SLM experiments will be carried out to obtain optimized parameters to produce samples with adequate microstructure and density. Rods shape samples will be prepared with the best set of parameters and they will have the microstructure, phase formation, thermal stability and mechanical properties characterized by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, optical and scanning electron microscopy and compression and hardness tests. (AU)