Microstructure Formation and Mechanical Properties of a Wire-Arc Additive Manufactured Magnesium Alloy

• Published in: JOM (1989) Vol. 73; no. 4; pp. 1126 - 1134
• Main Authors: Klein, Thomas, Arnoldt, Aurel, Schnall, Martin, Gneiger, Stefan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.04.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Additive manufacturing; Alloying additive; Analytical chemistry; Anisotropy; Chemical elements; Chemistry/Food Science; Cooling rate; Earth Sciences; Engineering; Environment; Feasibility studies; Grain size; Magnesium alloys; Magnesium base alloys; Material properties; Mechanical properties; Microstructure; Physics; Raw materials; Scanning electron microscopy; Software; Spectrum analysis; Technical Article; Texture; Titanium alloys; Weight reduction; Wire
• ISSN: 1047-4838; 1543-1851
• DOI: 10.1007/s11837-021-04567-4

Wire-arc additive manufacturing offers great advantages in terms of design freedom with respect to conventional manufacturing processes. This design freedom translates into additional options for light-weighting, further raised by use of light-weight materials such as magnesium. Here, Cold Metal Transfer is used to manufacture specimens using the magnesium AZ61A alloy. The fabricated deposit has been characterized in-depth in terms of microstructure and mechanical properties. A homogeneous and fine-grained microstructure was observed with no variations in hardness throughout the specimen height. Analyzed second phases are fine due to the high process-intrinsic cooling rates. A weak basal-fiber texture was observed, which is more pronounced in the fusion zone and becomes diffuse in the intralayer region. This texture translates into a weak mechanical anisotropy. The assessment of the mechanical properties suggests values between typical cast and wrought material properties. This study demonstrates the feasibility of processing magnesium alloys by wire-arc additive manufacturing.