Novel composite CuA19Mn2/Udimet-500 alloy walls with different content of the Udimet 500 were built using electron-beam double-wire-feed additive manufacturing. Intermixing both metals within the melted pool resulted in dissolving nickel and forcing out the aluminum from bronze. The resulting phases were NiAl particles and grains, M23C6/NiAl core/shell particles and Cu-Ni-Al solid solution. Precipitation of these phases resulted in the increased hardness and tensile strength as well as reduced ductility of the composite alloys. Such a hardening resulted in improving the wear resistance as compared to that of source aluminum bronze.
This work studied the possibility of producing multimaterials consisting of aluminum bronze CuAl9Mn2 and nickel-based superalloy Inconel 625 by double-wire electron beam additive manufacturing. Samples with 5%, 15%, 25%, and 50% of the nickel-based alloy in aluminum bronze were produced for the research. The structural features of these multimaterials were analyzed, and tensile properties, microhardness, and dry sliding friction properties were measured. The results showed that 50% of the nickel-based alloy in the multimaterial composition provides the formation of a dendritic structure. Such a material shows worse values of ductility and wear resistance. Samples containing 5%, 15%, and 25% of Inconel 625 provide similar friction coefficient values, whereas, with increasing concentration of the nickel-based alloy, the material’s ultimate tensile strength and microhardness increase significantly.
AA5154 aluminum alloy wall was built using EBAM where the wall’s top layers were alloyed by depositing and then remelting a Mo powder-bed with simultaneous transfer of aluminum alloy from the AA5154 wire. The powder-beds with different concentrations of Mo such as 0.3, 0.6, 0.9 and 1.2 g/layer were used to obtain composite AA5154/Mo samples. All samples were characterized by inhomogeneous structures composed of as-deposited AA5154 matrix with coarse unreacted Mo articles and intermetallic compounds (IMC) such as Al12Mo, Al5Mo, Al8Mo3, Al18Mg3Mo2 which formed in the vicinity of these Mo particles. The IMC content increased with the Mo powder-bed concentrations. The AA5154 matrix grains away from the Mo particles contained Al-Fe grain boundary precipitates. Mo-rich regions in the 0.3, 0.6, 0.9 and 1.2 g/layer Mo samples had maximum microhardness at the level of 2300, 2600, 11,500 and 9000 GPa, respectively. Sliding pin-on-steel disk test showed that wear of A5154/Mo composite reduced as compared to that of as-deposited AA5154 due to composite structure, higher microhardness as a well as tribooxidation of Al/Mo IMCs and generation of mechanically mixed layers containing low shear strength Mo8O23 and Al2(MoO4)3 oxides.
The paper presents the results of applying wire-feed electron beam additive manufacturing technology to produce bimetallic samples of CuCr1 copper alloy and Udimet 500 nickel-based superalloy. Different printing strategies were used to obtain samples with a defect-free structure and high mechanical properties in the transition zone, not inferior to the strength of copper alloy. Two types of samples were fabricated with a sharp and smooth CuCr1/Udimet 500 interface. The printing strategies of type I and II samples differed in the combination and arrangement of nickel and copper alloy layers. Structural studies in the transition zone revealed mechanical mixtures of initial copper and nickel alloy components and solid solutions based on nickel, copper, and chromium. Despite the presence of defects and structural heterogeneities in the experimental samples, the mechanical properties of the main components are at a high level, corresponding to the typical properties of copper and nickel alloys. The strength of the transition zone in type II samples is between the strength of Udimet 500 and CuCr1.
Magnesium-based alloys hold potential for medical applications, but face challenges like rapid bioresorption and limited mechanical strength during early bone healing. In our study, we present a novel Mg–Zn–Zr–Ce alloy with low cerium content (up to 0.1 wt.% Ce) processed using two severe plastic deformation (SPD) techniques. Through an innovative combination of multiaxial forging and multipass rolling, we have achieved a fine-grained structure with an average grain size of the primary α-Mg phase of 1.0 μm. This refined microstructure exhibits improved mechanical properties, including a substantial increase in yield strength (σYS) from 130 to 240 MPa, while preserving ductility. The alloy’s composition includes α-Mg grains, cerium and zinc hydrides, and intermetallic phases with cerium and zinc elements. Tensile testing of the fine-grained alloy demonstrates an enhancement in yield strength (σYS) to 250 MPa, marking a 2.8-fold improvement over the conventional state (σYS = 90 MPa), with a modest 2-fold reduction in ductility. Crucially, electrochemical tests conducted in physiological solutions highlight substantial advancements in corrosion resistance. The corrosion current was reduced from 14 to 2 μA/cm2, while polarization resistance decreased from 3.1 to 8.1 kΩ∙cm2, underlining the alloy’s enhanced resistance to biodegradation. Our results show that the novel Mg–Zn–Zr–Ce alloy, after combined SPD, demonstrates mitigated bioresorption and enhanced mechanical properties. Our findings highlight the fact that the introduction of this innovative alloy and the application of SPD represent significant steps towards addressing the limitations of magnesium-based alloys for medical implants, offering potential improvements in safety and effectiveness.