The use of additive manufacturing technology for the lightweight design of complex lattice structures is becoming increasingly popular, but research on lattice structure design and strength evaluation still relies on the visual comparison of stress distributions and lacks quantitative assessment data. Given this perspective, this study explored the effects of structural parameters (relative density, cell size, and sample size) on the compressive strength of diamond lattice structures prepared by Stereolithography (SLA) and revealed the underlying mechanisms through stress distribution simulations and the calculation of characteristic stress distribution parameters (structural efficiency and stress concentration coefficient). The results showed that a greater relative density can increase structural efficiency, but it hardly affects the stress concentration coefficient, and smaller cell sizes and larger sample sizes increase the stress concentration coefficient without affecting the structural efficiency. Lattice structures with a greater relative density, higher structural efficiency, and a larger stress concentration coefficient exhibit higher compressive strength according to the lattice strength formula, which indicates that lattice strength is determined by the product of structural efficiency, stress concentration coefficient, relative density, and material strength. The relevant conclusions could guide the analysis of lattice stress distribution and the design of lattice structures.
A comprehensive study was carried out to investigate the effects of Fe addition (0–0.9 wt.%) on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloys. The results indicate that Fe addition has a significant refinement effect on the microstructure of titanium alloys; specifically, 0.9 wt.% Fe addition can lead to a 47.37% decrease in the width of lamellar α. The modulus also decreases by 18.89% with the increase in the Fe content, being 91.40 GPa in Ti-6Al-4V-0.9Fe. And the microhardness and wear resistance are improved due to Fe addition. In addition, the constitutive equation of the Fe content and the elastic compliance coefficient were calculated, which can better describe the relationship between Fe addition and the elastic–plastic properties of titanium alloys. The slip systems’ activity during the deformation process was also discussed using the Schmid factor. It shows that Fe addition is beneficial for the activity of prismatic and pyramidal slip systems, especially in the {100} , {101} , and {112} slip systems.
The titanium matrix composites (TMCs) fabricated via Directed Energy Deposition (DED) effectively overcome the issue of coarse columnar grains typically observed in additively manufactured titanium alloys. In this study, systematic annealing heat treatments were applied to in situ (TiB + TiC)/Ti-6Al-4V composites to refine the microstructure and tailor mechanical properties. The results reveal that the plate-like α phase in the as-deposited composites gradually transforms into an equiaxed morphology with increasing annealing temperature and holding time. Notably, when the annealing temperature exceeds 1000 °C, significant coarsening of the TiC phase is observed, while the TiB phase remains morphologically stable. Annealing promotes decomposition of acicular martensite and stress relaxation, leading to a reduction in hardness compared to the as-deposited state. However, the reticulated distribution of the TiB and TiC reinforcement phases contributes to enhanced tensile performance. Specifically, the as-deposited composite achieves a tensile strength of 1109 MPa in the XOY direction, representing a 21.6% improvement over the as-cast counterpart, while maintaining a ductility of 2.47%. These findings demonstrate that post-deposition annealing is an effective strategy to regulate microstructure and achieve a desirable balance between strength and ductility in DED-fabricated titanium matrix composites.
Significant columnar grains usually occur in the metallurgical microstructure of laser additive manufacturing, and plastic deformation introduced into additive manufacturing can significantly refine grain size. Due to the high deformation resistance and difficult deformation of titanium alloys, reducing the high-temperature deformation resistance of additive manufacturing titanium alloys is essential to facilitating the implementation of online rolling processes. High-temperature compression of titanium alloys was performed on a Gleeble-3800. It was found that the flow stress of the alloy decreased when the strain of the alloy decreased or the deformation temperature increased. The flow behavior of titanium alloys at high temperatures was investigated with the help of a Z-parameter flow model and multiple linear regression model. A positive correlation was found between the experimental and predicted values of the alloy under the multiple linear regression model, with a correlation coefficient of 0.98 and its error of 13.5%, which could better predict the flow stress values. In addition, hot processing maps were established, and the optimal deformation conditions were determined to provide some theoretical guidance for subsequent experiments.
Sealing treatment is widely used as a simple and low-cost process to improve the long-term corrosion resistance of Fe-based amorphous coatings. In this study, an eco-friendly graphene modified waterborne acrylic sealant(WFS) with strong permeability was prepared by emulsion polymerization and GO@SiO2 was introduced as a reinforcing material to increase the withstand resistance of the hybrid sealant to Cl−. A combination of ultrasonic excitation and vacuum sealing effectively promotes the penetration of the waterborne hybrid sealant into the pores of the coating. A 3D X-ray scan confirmed the sealant penetration depth of 160 μm. The natural properties of the emulsion were characterized by a particle size analyzer, FTIR, TGA-DSC and TEM. Potentiodynamic polarization curves and AC impedance spectroscopy analysis showed that GO@SiO2 has a strong blocking ability to Cl−, which greatly promotes the integrity of the passive film. It is anticipated that the novel eco-friendly waterborne hybrid sealants with strong permeability will find applications in a variety of porous hard coatings.
Al-Li alloys present significant challenges for conventional fusion-based additive manufacturing (AM) due to their low evaporation temperature and high reactivity with oxygen. As a solid-state process, friction stir additive manufacturing (FSAM) is expected to eliminate melting and solidification during processing, thereby overcoming these limitations. This study investigates the FSAM of 2195 Al-Li alloy through temperature measurements and numerical simulations. The research focuses on the temperature at the center of the deposited region and the phase evolution before and after FSAM. The results indicate that during FSAM, the temperature at the center of the deposited zone ranges from 458 to 497 °C. In terms of phase constitution, the T3-tempered alloy primarily consists of an α-Al matrix and the δ’ (Al3Li) phase. The T8-tempered alloy contains α-Al, θ’ (Al2Cu), and T1 (Al2CuLi) phases. In the nugget zone (NZ), the peak temperature exceeds 450 °C. As a result, the T1 and θ’ phases dissolve, leaving only a small amount of δ’/β’ precipitates. This study presents a preliminary investigation based on a single-layer FSAM process. These findings provide a foundation for optimizing FSAM process parameters for Al-Li alloys.