Performance evaluation of AlSi10Mg fabricated by a selective laser melting process

“Selective laser melting is becoming a widely used additive manufacturing technique that melts metal powder in a layer by layer process in order to build a desired part or geometry. Like many additive processes, selective laser melting allows for fabrication of parts with complex geometries. In order to fabricate a fully dense part there are a number of variables to take into account including: powder characteristics, laser parameters, and environmental parameters. Each of these variables can affect the microstructure and thus the mechanical performance of an additively manufactured part. In this work, the aluminum alloy AlSi10Mg was investigated. AlSi10Mg is an alloy of interest to industries, like aerospace and automotive, due to its relatively low density and high mechanical properties. SEM imaging was performed to investigate the alloy powder, as well as the solid microstructure of printed material. The mechanical performance of the printed specimen was tested using tension, compression, and bending loads. The build orientation of the samples was varied to investigate its effects on the material yield strength. The tension testing was done using mini tensile samples. The horizontal build orientation was found to have a higher yield strength than the vertical orientation when under a tensile load. The compression results showed the opposite results, where the vertical orientation had a higher yield strength than the horizontally built samples. The bending results showed no clear difference in the flexural yield strength in orientations that were tested. The machine used for fabrication was the Renishaw AM 250. In order to print with the AlSi10Mg powder the reduced build volume chamber was utilized”--Abstract, page iv