The Morphology, Crystallography, and Chemistry of Phases in Wire-Arc Additively Manufactured Nickel Aluminum Bronze

Abstract

A new Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) technique is used to produce Nickel Aluminum Bronze (NAB) components for marine applications in view to mitigate the problems that typically arise in a cast microstructure. In cast condition, the alloy typically exhibits microstructure that consists of an FCC Cu-rich solid solution (or α-phase), some retained β-phase, and several intermetallic phases collectively referred to as κ-phase. This study aims to characterize the crystal structures of the various κ-phases or precipitates, their distribution, morphology, orientation relationships with the α-matrix, and their chemical compositions in WAAM-NAB alloy using electron microscopy. The precipitation of κ-phase differs in morphology and chemical composition to those present in a cast NAB. In addition, some uniaxial tensile coupons were machined out of the WAAM-NAB samples, where tensile mechanical properties are superior to those of cast NAB. The effects of microstructural differences in both alloys on the mechanical properties are correlated.

Publication Title

Minerals, Metals and Materials Series

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