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In this work, the effect of processing parameters on the resulting microstructure and mechanical properties of magnesium alloy WE43 processed via Additive Friction Stir Deposition (AFSD), a nascent solid-state additive manufacturing (AM) process, is investigated. In particular, a parameterization study was carried out, using multiple four-layer deposits, to identify a suitable process window for a structural 68-layers bulk WE43 deposition. The parametric study identified an acceptable set of parameters with minimal surface defects and excellent consolidation for the fabrication of a bulk WE43 deposition. Microstructural, tensile, and fatigue life characterization was conducted on the bulk WE43 deposition and compared to commercially available wrought material to elucidate the process-structure-property-performance (PSPP) relationship of the AFSD process. This study shows that the bulk WE43 deposit exhibited a refined homogenous microstructure and a texture shift relative to the wrought material. However, a reduction in hardness and tensile behavior was observed in the as-deposited WE43 compared to the wrought control. Additionally, fatigue specimens extracted from the bulk deposition exhibited a decrease in life in the low-cycle regime but performed comparably to the wrought plate in the high-cycle regime. The outcomes of this study illustrate the potential of the AFSD process in additively manufactured structural load-bearing components made with magnesium alloy WE43 in the as-built condition.

Additive Friction Stir-Deposition (AFS-D) is a transformative, metallic additive manufacturing (AM) process capable of producing near-net shape components with a wide variety of material systems. The solid-state nature of the process permits many of these materials to be successfully deposited without the deleterious phase and thermally activated defects commonly observed in other metallic AM technologies. This work is the first to investigate the as-deposited microstructure and mechanical performance of a free-standing AA5083 deposition. An initial process parameterization was conducted to down-select optimal parameters for a large deposition to examine build direction properties. Microscopy revealed that constitutive particles were dispersed evenly throughout the matrix when compared to the rolled feedstock. Electron backscatter diffraction revealed a significant grain refinement from the inherent dynamic recrystallization from the AFS-D process. Tensile experiments determined a drop in yield strength, but an improvement in tensile strength in the longitudinal direction. However, a substantial reduction in tensile strength was observed in the build direction of the structure. Subsequent fractographic analysis revealed that the recommended lubrication applied to the feedstock rods, necessary for successful depositions via AFS-D, was ineffectively dispersed into the structure. As a result, lubrication contamination became entrapped at layer boundaries, preventing adequate bonding between layers.

A novel solid-state additive manufacturing (AM) process, additive friction stir deposition (AFS-D), provides a new pathway for additively repairing damaged nonweldable aerospace materials that are susceptible to induced thermal gradients within the microstructure. In this work, we quantify the microstructural evolution and mechanical performance of an additively repaired AA7075-T651 (Al-Zn-Mg-Cu) via the AFS-D process. To evaluate the AFS-D process for repairing high strength aluminum alloys, the AFS-D technique was used to additively fill a linear groove that was machined into an AA7075-T651 plate. After repairing the plate with the AFS-D process, the repaired plate was subjected to standard T6 heat treatment. The results of this study show that the heat-treated AFS-D repair did not exhibit any significant grain growth and demonstrated an increase in the average Vickers hardness in the repair compared with the wrought 7075-T651 control. Tensile and fatigue behavior was investigated for heat-treated repair and compared with the wrought AA7075-T651 control. The heat-treated repair exhibited wrought-like tensile properties for yield stress (YS) and ultimate stress; however, the heat-treated repair had significant scatter in the elongation to failure. Additionally, the mean fatigue behavior of the heat-treated repairs displayed a reduction in cycles to failure compared with the wrought control. Lastly, a microstructure-sensitive fatigue life model was used to elucidate process-structure-property fatigue mechanism relations of the heat-treated repair and wrought AA7075.

In recent years, additive manufacturing (AM) has gained prominence in rapid prototyping and production of structural components with complex geometries. Magnesium alloys, which have a strength-to-weight ratio that is superior compared with steel and aluminum alloys, have shown potential in lightweighting applications. However, commercial beam-based AM technologies have limited success with magnesium alloys due to vaporization and hot cracking. Therefore, as an alternative approach, we propose the use of a near net-shape solid-state additive manufacturing process, additive friction stir deposition (AFSD), to fabricate magnesium alloys in bulk. In this study, a parametric investigation was performed to quantify the effect of process parameters on AFSD build quality including volumetric defects and surface quality in magnesium alloy AZ31B. In order to understand the effect of the AFSD process on structural integrity in the magnesium alloy AZ31B, in-depth microstructure and mechanical property characterization was conducted on a bulk AFSD build fabricated with a set of acceptable process parameters. Results of the microstructure analysis of the as-deposited AFSD build revealed bulk microstructure similar to wrought magnesium alloy AZ31 plate. Additionally, similar hardness measurements were found in AFSD build compared with control wrought specimens. While tensile test results of the as-deposited AFSD build exhibited a 20% drop in yield strength (YS), nearly identical ultimate strength was observed compared with the wrought control. The experimental results of this study illustrate the potential of using the AFSD process to additively manufacture Mg alloys for load bearing structural components with achieving wrought-like microstructure and mechanical properties.

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