Faculty Publications

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    Additive manufacturing of magnesium alloys: Characterization and post-processing
    (KeAi Publishing Communications Ltd., 2024) Manjhi, S.K.; Sekar, P.; Bontha, S.; Balan, A.S.S.
    Magnesium and its alloys remain perilous in the framework of light weighting and advanced devices structure such as rockets and satellites. However, the utilization of Magnesium (Mg) is increasing every year, revealing growing demands in manufacturing industries. Manufacturing of Mg components is challenging because of their HCP crystal structure and limited ductility. In this context, additive manufacturing (AM) provides the flexibility to manufacture complex shape components with excellent dimensional stability. It also provides a new possibility for utilizing novel component structures that increase the applications for Mg alloy. This review herein pursues to holistically explore the additive manufacturing of Mg alloy with a synopsis of processes used and microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion behaviour and postprocessing of AMed Mg alloy. The challenges and future scope of AMed Mg alloys are critically explored. © 2023 The Authors
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    An Experimental Investigation on Microstructure, Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Performance of CMT-Wire Arc Additively Manufactured Al-4043 Alloy
    (Springer, 2023) Manjhi, S.K.; Kumar, B.S.S.; Rodrigues, J.P.; Sekar, P.; Bontha, S.; Balan, A.S.S.
    The wire arc additive manufacturing process (WAAM) has drawn incredible potential to manufacture non-ferrous alloys such as Aluminium and Magnesium. The deposition of Aluminium using a conventional WAAM process resulted in various defects such as porosity, cracks and tensile residual stress owing to high heat input. Therefore, to address these challenges, cold metal transfer wire arc additive manufacturing process (CMT-WAAM) is used to deposit 4043 Al alloy. The microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion performance of Al 4043 are evaluated to ascertain the quality of deposited parts. The XRD peak intensity and microstructure shows that the main phases are α-Al and MgSi2 eutectics distributed along the grain boundaries of the Al matrix. The grain size of the bottom section is relatively smaller than the middle and top sections due to the high thermal gradient at the beginning of the deposition. Therefore, the hardness increases from the bottom to the top section of the thin wall. In addition, variations in the fraction of secondary phases are also responsible for the variation in hardness. The average UTS and % EL of travel direction (TD) are 177 ± 5 MPa and 20 ± 0.3%, which are relatively higher than the average UTS (164 ± 2 MPa) and % EL (17 ± 0.5%) of build direction (BD). However, the differences are only 10 ± 3 MPa and 2 ± 0.3% EL, exhibiting isotropic mechanical properties. The corrosion rates of the bottom, middle and top sections are 0.172, 0.116 and 0.102 mm/year, which are comparable, exhibiting uniform corrosion resistance of the deposited thin wall. © 2023, The Indian Institute of Metals - IIM.
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    Effect of equiaxed grains and secondary phase particles on mechanical properties and corrosion behaviour of CMT- based wire arc additive manufactured AZ31 Mg alloy
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2023) Manjhi, S.K.; Sekar, P.; Bontha, S.; Balan, A.S.S.
    Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) has drawn tremendous attention for manufacturing large and complex components of lightweight material at a moderate cost due to its high deposition rate and energy efficiency. Generally, WAAM-Mg alloy comprises columnar and columnar dendrite grains due to high cooling rates and thermal gradients responsible for anisotropic mechanical properties. To overcome this challenge, in this work, CMT-WAAM, which generally uses comparatively low heat input (33% lower than conventional WAAM), was used to deposit AZ31 Mg thin wall. The metallurgical characterization of the deposited thin wall of the top (T), middle (M) and bottom (B) sections reveals equiaxed grains of average sizes ∼ 58, ∼ 63 and ∼ 38 µm, respectively. In addition, TEM results exhibit the formation of secondary phase particles, i.e., β-Mg17Al12 and ɳ-Al8Mn5. Further, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and % elongation (% EL) in the travel direction (UTS = 224 MPa, % EL= 23.47%) are superior to that obtained in the build direction (UTS = 217 MPa, % EL = 20.82%). The corrosion resistance of WAAMed AZ31 Mg alloy is higher than wrought (cold rolled) AZ31 Mg alloy in Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS). The results of this study reveal the potential of CMT-WAAM to deposit different grades of Mg with desired microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. © 2023 CIRP
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    Hybrid additive manufacturing of ER70S6 steel and Inconel 625: A study on microstructure and mechanical properties
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2023) Rodrigues, J.P.; Thanumoorthy, R.S.; Manjhi, S.K.; Sekar, P.; Arumuga Perumal, D.A.; Bontha, S.; Balan, A.S.S.
    Hybrid Additive Manufacturing (HAM) is currently being explored because of its potential to achieve trade-off between build capacity and feature resolution. The present study aims at fabricating ER70S6-Inconel 625 (IN625) bimetallic clad using hybrid Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) and Laser Directed Energy Deposition (LDED) processes. Microstructure evaluation was performed at the cross section of bimetallic clad for distinct materials as well as the interface. WAAM built ER70S6 revealed equiaxed ferritic grains, whereas laser deposited IN625 region showed columnar dendrites with under developed secondary arms. However, the first layer of IN625 exhibited columnar dendrite with secondary arms due to the influence of diffused Fe from the base ER70S6 steel under the action of concentrated laser heat source, which was revealed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) maps. The measured microhardness across the cross section of the deposit showed values corresponding to inherent material system. The interface did not reveal presence of any intermetallic phases which was confirmed by hardness results and X-Ray diffraction. Shear test revealed superior bond strength between the two materials, maintaining average strength of 452 MPa. The fractography images exhibited fine dimples along with cleavages indicating mixed fracture characteristics. This additive manufacturing method explores a new dimension in multi-material fabrication which, when customized for different materials, serve critical areas in the aerospace and defence sector. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd
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    Effect of CMT-WAAM Process Parameters on Bead Geometry, Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AZ31 Mg Alloy
    (Springer, 2024) Manjhi, S.K.; Sekar, P.; Bontha, S.; Balan, A.A.S.
    Fabrication of Mg alloys using the additive manufacturing process is quite challenging owing to high oxidation and volatile nature at high temperatures. The present study investigates the effect of wire feed speed (WFS) and travel speed (TS) on single tracks of AZ31 Mg alloy fabricated using the cold metal transfer wire arc additive Manufacturing (CMT-WAAM) process. The WFS and TS of CMT-WAAM are optimized to achieve better deposition quality. An increase in WFS increased the width, height, penetration depth, and heat-affected zone of single tracks. In addition, increasing TS decreased the deposited tracks' contact angle and height. The average grain size at the interface zone, center and top portion of single tracks are 35, 42, and 60 μm. The x-ray diffraction results show only the presence of primary phase α-Mg; interestingly, the β-Mg17Al12 and η-Al8Mn5 secondary phases are identified by SEM + EDS and TEM images. The microhardness increased from the substrate to the top section of single tracks due to the increased volume fraction of secondary-phase particles. Based on the best-chosen process parameters obtained from single-track deposition, a multilayer AZ31 Mg thin wall is deposited. The UTS, YS, and % EL of the deposited thin wall in travel direction (TD) are 222 MPa, 102 MPa, and 18%, while in build direction are 202 MPa, 110 MPa, and 14%, respectively. The tensile strength and elongation % of TD and BD samples exhibited comparable properties and were higher than cast AZ31 Mg alloy. © ASM International 2023.