Physical and Mechanical Properties of Cu-Fe System Functionally Graded and Multimaterial Structures after the DED

TL;DR

This study experimentally characterizes the thermal and mechanical properties of laser-deposited Cu-Fe system multilayer structures and alloys, highlighting their potential for aerospace, nuclear, and electronic applications.

Contribution

It provides new data on the properties of Cu-Fe FG structures and alloys fabricated via additive manufacturing, emphasizing their suitability for advanced industrial uses.

Findings

Aluminium bronze-stainless steel 1:1 alloy shows highest tensile strength (876.4 MPa)

Chromium bronze-stainless steel alloys exhibit lower strength and higher elasticity modulus

FG structures demonstrate potential for aerospace, nuclear, and electronic applications

Abstract

This paper is devoted to experimental characterisation of linear thermal expansion coefficient (LTEC) and mechanical characteristics of the laser deposited Cu-Fe system multilayer functionally graded (FG) structures and binary Cu-Fe alloys, fabricated from the tin, aluminium, and chromium bronze with 89-99 wt.% of copper and stainless steel (SS) AISI 316L with 1:1 and 3:1 bronze-to-steel ratio. The best tensile mechanical strength of as-built parts is demonstrated by the aluminium bronze-stainless steel 1:1 alloy and reaches 876.4 MPa along with low elasticity modulus (11.2 GPa) and 1.684 1/K LTEC. Contrarily, the worst values of the mechanical characteristics are exhibited by parts created from the chromium bronze and SS, which failed at 294.0-463.3 MPa ultimate stress, showed the highest elasticity modulus (up to 42.4 GPa) and comparatively high average LTEC (up to 1.878 1/K). The aluminium bronze-stainless steel binary and FG alloys are discussed in the light of prospective application as the part of gradient materials, created by additive manufacturing (AM) technologies via the gradient path method and the alternating layers technique, with expected possibility of application in aerospace, nuclear, and electronic industry due to advantageous combination of the antifrictionality, heat conductivity, and oxidation resistance of the bronze, and the high mechanical strength, corrosion and creep resistance of the stainless steel.