Wire Arc Additive Manufactured CuMn13Al7 High-Manganese Aluminium Bronze

Abstract

In this work, high-manganese aluminium bronze CuMn13Al7 samples were prepared by arc additive manufacturing technology. The phase composition, microstructure, and crystal structure of the high-manganese aluminium bronze CuMn13Al7 arc additive manufactured samples were analysed using direct-reading spectrometer, metallographic microscope, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope. The micro-hardness tester, tensile tester, impact tester, and electrochemical workstation were also used to test the performance of the CuMn13Al7 samples. By studying the microstructure and properties of the CuMn13Al7 samples, it was found that preparation of the samples by the arc additive manufacturing technology ensured good forming quality, almost no defects, and good metallurgical bonding inside the sample. The metallographic structure (α + β + point phase) mainly comprises the following: the metallographic structure in the equiaxed grain region has an obvious grain boundary α; the metallographic structure in the remelting region has no obvious grain boundary α; the thermal influence on the metallographic structure produced a weaker grain boundary α than the equiaxed grain region. The transverse and longitudinal cross sections of the sample had uniform microhardness distributions, and the average microhardness values were 190.5 HV0.1 and 192.7 HV0.1, respectively. The sample also had excellent mechanical properties: yield strength of 301 MPa, tensile strength of 633 MPa, elongation of 43.5%, reduction of area by 58%, Charpy impact value of 68 J/cm2 at – 20 ℃, and dynamic potential polarisation curve test results. Further, it was shown that the average corrosion potential of the sample was – 284.5 mV, and the average corrosion current density was 4.1×10–3 mA/cm2.

A review of the corrosion behavior of conventional and additively manufactured nickel–aluminum bronze (NAB) alloys: current status and future challenges

“…However, the corrosion test results of the sample were not compared with those of representative cast/wrought alloys. 42…”

“…34,37 This is consistent with the limited available research studies regarding the corrosion characteristics of AMed copper-based alloys. [38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48] Thus, the following discussions aim to provide a concise overview of AM technologies that have been utilized in previously published reports dealing with the corrosion properties of AMed NABs and other 3D printed Cu-based alloys.…”

“…However, the corrosion test results of the sample were not compared with those of representative cast/wrought alloys. 42 The second most studied group of AM-produced Cu-based alloys are cupronickels (Cu-Ni). In an early investigation on the corrosion properties of AMed Cu-based alloys, a direct metal deposition (DMD) approach was implemented to deposit Cu-30Ni alloy onto a C71500 cupronickel alloy substrate, and the corrosion behaviors were assessed through immersion testing in synthetic seawater.…”