Date of Award

Spring 2018

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Metallurgical Engineering

Committee Chair

KV Sudhakar

First Advisor

Bruce Madigan

Second Advisor

Brahma Pramanik

Third Advisor

Ronda Coguill

Abstract

Selective laser melting (SLM) additive manufacturing (AM) of metal powders has long been a focus in the study of AM due to the possibility of weight reduction, complex shape formation, and production cost savings. Although applicable to a variety of metals SLM AM of the AlSi10Mg alloy was studied in an attempt to characterize the effect of processing parameter and build angle variation on the final microstructural, fractographic, and mechanical properties of parts produced without any thermal post-processing techniques. Research was conducted on five build angles (0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°), and three Global Energy Densities (GED) (37.15, 45.39, and 49.93) [J/mm3] achieved through variations of hatch spacing, scan speed, and laser power. Sample characterization included tensile testing, fatigue testing, metallography, and fractography allowing for correlation between processing parameters, build angle, and mechanical properties. Results indicate that mechanical properties of SLM AM AlSi10Mg can be manipulated through processing parameter variation. Tensile properties of the SLM AM AlSi10Mg samples were comparable or better than that of accepted values for Al 6061-T6, but fatigue properties remained inadequate. Evaluation of collected data indicates that fatigue behavior is improvable and a viable replacement for Al 6061-T6 may be possible without utilization of any thermal post processing.

Comments

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

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