Processing of Aluminum Alloy 6182 with High Scanning Speed in LPBF by In-Situ Alloying with Zr and Ti Powder

The demand for high-strength aluminum alloys for the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process is still growing. However, to date, the crack susceptibility of conventional alloys as well as the high prices for specially developed alloys are the main obstacles for the use of high-strength aluminum alloys for LPBF. In this paper, crack-free LPBF samples with a relative density >99.9% were processed from AlMgSi1Zr (6182 series alloy) powder, to which 0.5 wt.-% Zr and 0.5 wt.-% Ti were added via mechanical mixing. No hot cracks were found in the µCT scans. Moreover, a fully equiaxed microstructure with a mean size of the α-Al grains of 1.2 µm was observed in the as-built parts. Al3(Zr,Ti) particles were observed, acting as efficient heterogeneous grain refiners for α-Al by building a semi-coherent interface. Unmolten Ti and Zr particles with sizes up to 80 µm were found in the α-Al phase. The resulting fine-grained microstructure led to a tensile strength of 329 ± 4 MPa and a total elongation at a break of 11.4 ± 0.9% after solution heat treatment, quenching in water, and subsequent artificial ageing.