Corrosion and wear properties of building direction dependent as-built AlSi10Mg aluminium alloy printed by selective laser melting

Abstract

In this study, AlSi10Mg alloy was produced by selective laser melting process with various building orientations. 0 degrees, 15 degrees, 30 degrees, 45 degrees, 60 degrees and 75 degrees building angles were used in selective laser melting process to reveal the influence of building orientation on wear and corrosion properties of the as-built alloy. The printed samples were analyzed by microstructure investigations, electrochemical corrosion and dry sliding wear tests. It was revealed that microstructure properties of the samples can be influenced by the building direction. Also, the sample produced with 45 degrees consisted of parabolic shaped and long strip shaped melt pools. The lowest wear rate was obtained as 79.15.10-5 mm3/Nm in AB-45 sample due to existence of melt pools in various morphology. Moreover, it was deduced that the corrosion rate is higher in AB-0 and AB-75 samples, and the corrosion rate of the AB-45 is improved to 0.04532 mm/year. It was determined that deterioration of parabolic shaped melt pools improves the corrosion behaviour of the structure.