Nanoscale ceramic reinforced Al-based nanocomposites by laser additive manufacturing

Al-based nanocomposites with high performance are increasingly demanded to meet the requirements for aerospace and automotive applications. Al-based materials are supposed to be difficult to process by laser additive manufacturing, determined by the low density, high laser reflectivity, high thermal conductivity, and oxidation of Al-materials. In this chapter, Al-based composites reinforced with ultrafine TiB2 particles were manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of uniformly mixed AlSi10Mg/TiB2 nanocomposite powder. The effects of laser processing parameters, ceramic size and fraction on the manufacturing quality, microstructural evolution, and mechanical properties of Al-based nanocomposites were investigated. The phase and microstructure evolution of the LPBF-processed composites with the addition of TiB2 nanoparticles were disclosed. The Al-based nanocomposite parts with appropriate reinforcement prepared at the optimal laser processing parameters exhibited high manufacturing quality, fine microstructure, and elevated properties compared to the unreinforced LPBF-processed AlSi10Mg alloy. The underlying strengthening mechanisms of LPBF-processed Al-based composites reinforced with ultrafine TiB2 particles were revealed.