Microstructure, porosity and mechanical properties of selective laser melted AlSi10Mg

Finite element modeling (FEM), microscopy, X-ray computed tomography (CT) and mechanical property tests were used to study the microstructure, porosity and mechanical properties of an AlSi10Mg alloy produced by selective laser melting (SLM). The simulation of the melt pool and thermal history under different energy densities produced an optimized result with an energy density of 44.5 J·mm−3. The high cooling rate during the SLM process significantly refined the previous α-Al dendrites. The growth direction of the network-like Al-Si eutectic structure at different orientations confirmed the anisotropic nature of the microstructure. Furthermore, the microhardness, tensile testing and fracture analysis results proved that there were no obvious distinctions in the strength between the transverse and longitudinal directions, and that the ductility was anisotropic, possibly due to the shape and distribution of the pores. The pores measured by X-ray CT at different energy densities confirmed that the sphericity of the pores was inversely related to pores volumes. With optimized processing conditions, the porosity of the selective laser melted sample decreased leading to the improved fabricated fuel system component via SLM.