Mesoscopic numerical simulation and experimental investigation of laser powder bed fusion AlCu5MnCdVA alloys

Abstract AlCu5MnCdVA alloys had high specific strength, good machining and fatigue properties, outstanding electroplating and excellent corrosion resistance. However, due to wide crystallization temperature range, it is hard to realize sequential solidification for AlCu5MnCdVA alloy by traditional casting process. Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) has become one of the most promising technology in Metal Additive Manufacturing (MAM). In this study, L-PBF was employed to fabricate AlCu5MnCdVA parts, and both mesoscopic numerical element model and experimental printing were applied to study the feasibility of L-PBF Additive Manufacturing AlCu5MnCdVA alloy. Relative densities, phase analysis and micromorphology were investigated systematically by SEM, EDS and XRD. The laser process parameters window for AlCu5MnCdVA were obtained: volumetric energy density 41–51 J mm−3, laser power 230–240W, laser scanning speed 1200–1325 mm s−1. And the relative density of parts fabricated by L-PBF reached 96.1%. Besides, AlCu5MnCdVA alloy fabricated by L-PBF was mainly consist of α-Al, little other phase such as Al2Cu or Al2Mn3 was detected.