Mechanical and tribological behavioral study of metal additive manufactured AlSi10Mg alloy

Metal Additive Manufacturing (MAM) is a contemporary manufacturing process that has importance in producing automotive, aerospace, and medical implant products. It has become inevitable nowadays because of its rapid and simple additive manufacturing technique. In relation to this, Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is getting commercially popularized to producing almost all metal 3D products. The present work investigates the mechanical and tribological behaviors of DMLSed AlSi10Mg alloy and the same is being compared with as-cast AlSi10Mg alloy. The mechanical study is conducted to find its hardness and tensile strength, and the tribological tests are also carried out on pin-on-disc apparatus as per G99-05 ASTM standard to investigate its friction and wear behavior. The mechanical test results indicate the DMLSed AlSi10Mg alloy showed 9.25% higher hardness and 76.47% higher tensile strength than as-cast AlSi10Mg alloy. Fractography analysis is implemented to predict the cause and type of failure, and it is found as a mixture of more of ductile and to some extent brittle failure. The tribological test results reveal that at 20 N applied load, 4.18 m/s sliding velocity, and 1,600 m sliding distance the specimen offers minimum specific wear rate and at 40 N applied load, 2.06 m/s sliding velocity, and 2,400 m sliding distance the specimen offers minimum coefficient of friction. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopic (FESEM) analysis is being done to identify the wear mechanisms of the specimens.