A High-Strength TiB2-Modified Al-Si-Mg-Zr Alloy Fabricated by Laser Powder-Bed Fusion

doi:10.1007/s40195-025-01825-1

Abstract

Abstract:

To increase the strength of the laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF) Al-Si-based aluminum alloy, TiB₂ ceramic particles were selected to be mixed with high-Mg content Al-Si-Mg-Zr powder, and then a novel TiB₂/Al-Si-Mg-Zr composite was fabricated using LPBF. The results indicated that a dense sample with a maximum relative density of 99.85% could be obtained by adjusting the LPBF process parameters. Incorporating TiB₂ nanoparticles enhanced the powder's laser absorption rate, thereby raising the alloy's intrinsic heat treatment temperature and consequently facilitating the precipitation of Si and βʺ nanoparticles in the α-Al cells. Moreover, the rapid cooling process during LPBF resulted in numerous alloying elements with low-stacking fault energy dissolving in the α-Al matrix, thus promoting the formation of the 9R phase. After a 48 h direct aging treatment at 150 °C, the strength of the alloy slightly increased due to the increase of nanoprecipitates. Both yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the LPBF TiB₂/Al-Si-Mg-Zr alloy were significantly higher than that of other LPBF TiB₂-modified aluminum alloys with external addition.

Key words: Laser powder-bed fusion, Aluminum alloy, TiB2 ceramic particle, 9R phase, Mechanical properties

Yaoxiang Geng, Keying Lv, Chunfeng Zai, Zhijie Zhang, Anil Kunwar. A High-Strength TiB₂-Modified Al-Si-Mg-Zr Alloy Fabricated by Laser Powder-Bed Fusion[J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2025, 38(4): 542-554.

Figures/Tables 16

Table 1 Chemical composition of the Al-Si-Mg-Zr powder (wt%)

Powder	Chemical composition
Powder	Si	Mg	Zr	Fe	Al
Al-Si-Mg-Zr	7.43	1.57	0.37	0.08	Bal.

Fig. 1 a SEM surface morphology, b-f corresponding EDS mappings of the TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr composite powder

Table 2 LPBF process parameters of the specimens

Laser power (W)	Laser beam diameter (μm)	Powder layer thickness (μm)	Hatch spacing (μm)	Laser scanning speed (mm/s)	Angle of rotation (°)
250, 350	100	30	100	800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200	67

Fig. 2 a Schematic of the scanning strategy, b morphology of the LPBF TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr composite specimens

Fig. 3 Change of a relative density, b VED of the TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr composite fabricated under different process parameters

Fig. 4 a, d SEM and b, e LSCM upper surface topography, c, f OM images of the TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr alloy fabricated at various process parameters

Fig. 5 a, b EBSD orientation maps obtained from a parallel and b perpendicular to the building directions, and c low, d high magnification (originated from the fine region) SEM images of the LPBF TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr samples obtained from parallel to the building direction

Fig. 6 a SEM image and b-f corresponding EDS mapping of the LPBF TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr alloy, b Al, c Si, d Mg, e Zr, f Ti

Fig. 7 a TEM-BF image and b-f corresponding EDS mappings of the LPBF TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr alloy, b Si, c Mg, d Zr, e Ti, f Fe

Fig. 8 a, b High-resolution TEM images, and c inverse FFT obtained from the FFT of the inset in b. FFT image originated from a indicated the presence of βʺ phase. Inverse FFT analysis revealed that the 9R structure consists of three Shockley partials. When viewed along the [110] direction, the stacking sequence of the 9R phase is observed to follow the …ABC/BCA/CAB/…

Fig. 9 SEM images of the LPBF TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr samples after aging at a 150 °C, b 200 °C, c 250 °C, d 300 °C, e 400 °C, f 500 °C for 2 h

Fig. 10 SEM images of the LPBF TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr samples after aging at 150 °C for a 4 h, b 12 h, c 24 h, d 48 h

Fig. 11 Variations of Vickers hardness of the LPBF TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr samples after aging a at different temperatures for 2 h, b at 150 °C for different time

Fig. 12 a Tensile stress-strain curves, and comparison of the b YS, c UTS of the LPBF TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr samples with other previously reported external addition TiB2-modified aluminum alloys fabricated using LPBF

Table 3 Mechanical properties of as-built and aging LPBF TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr and Al-Si-Mg-Zr samples

Samples	Condition	YS (MPa)	UTS (MPa)	Elongation (%)
TiB₂/Al-Si-Mg-Zr	As-built	408 ± 9	514 ± 8	4.7 ± 1.2
	150 °C-12 h	406 ± 10	518 ± 6	4.8 ± 1.1
	150 °C-24 h	403 ± 11	520 ± 12	4.7 ± 1.1
	150 °C-48 h	419 ± 3	517 ± 10	4.4 ± 1.2
	250 °C-2 h	221 ± 10	345 ± 7	8.3 ± 0.7
	300 °C-2 h	182 ± 1	279 ± 1	13.5 ± 4
Al-Si-Mg-Zr	As-built	343 ± 3	485 ± 4	10.2 ± 0.2
	300 °C-2 h	198 ± 1	305 ± 6	28.3 ± 3.3

Fig. 13 SEM low- and high-magnification fracture morphology images of the LPBF TiB2/Al-Si-Mg-Zr samples at different heat treatment conditions, a1, a2 as-built, b1, b2 150 °C-24 h, c1, c2 300 °C-2 h

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A High-Strength TiB₂-Modified Al-Si-Mg-Zr Alloy Fabricated by Laser Powder-Bed Fusion

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