Thermal Behavior and Microstructure of TC4-TA19 Functionally Graded Materials by Laser Solid Forming
Author of the article:CHEN Yuguang1,2, TAN Hua1,2, FAN Wei1,2, MI Zesen1,2, LIN Xin1,2, HUANG Weidong1,2
Author's Workplace:1. State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China; 2. MIIT Key Laboratory of Metal High Performance Additive Manufacturing and Innovative Design, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China
Key Words:functionally graded materials; laser solid forming; thermal field; cooling rate; microstructure
Abstract:
TC4-TA19 functionally graded materials can obtain different properties in different parts of the same structure, which has potential and value for engineering application. Laser solid forming is a reliable technique for fabricating high performance metal components, which is very suitable for fabricating functionally graded materials. The thermal behavior of TC4-TA19 functionally graded materials during laser solid forming and the microstructure morphology of three typical component gradient regions have been simulated and experimentally studied. The results show that the forming thermal field and solidification cooling rate are significantly affected by laser power and layer thickness, but less affected by scanning speed, and are not sensitive to component gradient. The microstructure in the composition gradient region is composed of β columnar crystals grown by epitaxial growth and α lath interlaced within the crystals. The α lath size is mainly affected by the composition of the alloy, and coarser with the increase of TC4 ratio. In the composition gradient region, the microstructure at the interface exhibit a high continuity, and the smaller the composition gradient, the less obvious the interface. The composition gradient zone has high design freedom and can optimize the solidification structure by adjusting laser power and layer thickness, which is beneficial to practical production.