High strength Al alloy development for laser powder bed fusion

High strength Al alloy development is the key technique to additive manufacturing (AM) applied on lightweight of aerospace, automotive and military industry. Unlike the conventional wrought Al–Si eutectic alloys available for AM process, the strength of new developed Al alloy can be improved by in situ or additional nano-precipitated phase. This paper presents an overview of high strength Al alloys development including metallic additives, such as Zr, Sc, Mn, Cu, etc., and nanoparticle additives, such as ceramics (TiB2, TiC, LaB6 and TiN) as well as carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The addition of Zr and Sc elements significantly prevents hot tearing and enhances the strength of laser processed Al alloys because the nanoscale Al3Zr, Al3Sc and Al3 (Sc, Zr) precipitated phases generate, facilitate the heterogeneous nucleation of Al matrix and refine the microstructure. Moreover, the addition of Mn and Cu elements provides an increment in the toughness and strength of laser processed Al alloys through the superimposed effect of multi-element solid solution reinforcement and precipitation strengthening role of some Al2CuMg and Al6Mn. The growth process of Al alloy can be interrupted by the addition of nanoceramics particles as additional nucleation site which leads the columnar grain transforms to the equiaxed grain. Furthermore, the mechanism of mutual solubility of LaB6, TiB2, TiC and TiN in Al alloys is systematically studied. Finally, an assessment of the state in laser processed high strength Al alloys and the research demands for the expansion of laser powder bed fusion of Al metallic components are provided.