Tailoring the mechanical properties and thermal stability of additive manufactured micro-alloyed Al-Cu alloy via multi-stage heat treatment

In this study, a novel Sc/Zr/Ti/Er-modified 2219 aluminum alloy was designed and wall-shaped components were then fabricated by wire-arc directed energy deposition (DED). Due to the heterogeneous nucleation promoted by primary Al3X dispersoids, the as-deposited alloy exhibits a highly equiaxed fine grain structure. Two heat treatment schedules were conducted to tailor the strength and thermal stability of the alloy. Compared with the classical T6 heat treatment, the additional homogenization step before the T6 heat treatment (HT6) prefabricated more Al3X dispersoids, which indirectly promoted the transition from θ″ precipitates to θ′ precipitates, resulting in a slight reduction in strength. However, this homogenization step helps to avoid the aggregation of pores by promoting pores ripening and significantly alleviates the anisotropy of ductility. In addition, the better thermal stability of the HT6 heat treated alloy is due to more Al3X dispersoids and finer θ′ precipitates with high coarsening resistance caused by the segregation of Sc and Mn at the θ′/Al interface during thermal exposure. In general, the wire-arc DEDed micro-alloyed 2219 Al alloy exhibits a promising combination of strength and ductility after heat treatment and its mechanical properties are superior to those of the wrought micro-alloyed Al-Cu alloys