Crystallography and Mechanical Properties of Wire Arc Additively Manufactured Al5356 Components

In this study, we present results of the evolution of the crystallographic texture and imperfections, as well as the corresponding mechanical properties of wire and arc additively manufactured (WAAM) Al5356 specimens, studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and tensile testing, respectively. The results show that the phase composition is in the form of a face-centred cubic (fcc) crystal structure, corresponding to the base material, as well as some traces of oxide phase Al2O3. The WAAM specimen growing is accompanied by a slight change in the preferred crystallographic orientation, from (111) to (200) and a decrease in the imperfections concentration. Also, it was found that the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield strength (YS), and elongation slightly decrease from the initial to the more advanced stages of growth.