Investigation of dominant contributors to high strength of additively manufactured Al-Fe alloy by using single-crystal micropillar compression tests

Abstract

In this study, we aim to address the dominant microstructural parameter of the high strength of Al-Fe alloy components additive-manufactured by the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process. This study systematically investigated the compression response of single-crystal micropillars with a fixed diameter of approximately 3μm prepared on the surfaces of the L-PBF built Al-2.5%Fe binary alloy sample, and the subsequently heat-treated samples (300°C and 500°C), together with the slowly solidified Al-2.5%Fe alloy sample for comparison. The single-crystal micropillars of the L-PBF built sample exhibited a high yield strength of approximately 250 MPa and pronounced strain hardening. The compressed single-crystal specimens exhibited a uniform deformation indicating the activated multi-slip systems. Such a trend was observed in the 300°C heat-treated sample. However, the relatively low yield strength and strain hardening rate were found in single-crystal micropillars of the 500°C heat-treated sample as well as the slowly solidified sample. In the compressed micropillars, a single-slip system was dominantly activated. These results indicated that numerous nano-sized Al₆Fe-phase particles (contained in the specimens of the L-PBF built sample and the 300°C heat-treated sample) could contribute to high yield strength and the enhanced activation of multi-slip systems resulting in the pronounced strain hardening.