Influence of process parameters on the physical and material properties of WAAM steels
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is a metal 3D printing technique that offers the opportunity to fabricate large-scale structural components with high geometric flexibility and reduced material waste. This study aims to investigate the influence of different process parameters and cooling methods on the physical, mechanical and microstructural properties of WAAM steels with a view to assessing their suitability for use in construction. Six WAAM steel plates with nominal thicknesses of 3.5 mm, 5 mm, 8 mm and 12 mm, printed using ER90S-D2 welding wire, different process parameters and active or passive cooling, were examined. A total of 72 tensile coupons extracted at different orientations relative to the print layers with either as-built or machined surface conditions were tested. 3D laser scanning was performed to capture the as-built surface undulations and facilitate the calculation of surface roughness. X-ray computed tomography (XCT) scanning was conducted on selected coupon specimens to examine the printing defects. The tensile testing revealed that the WAAM steels exhibited largely isotropic elastic behaviour, which aligned with the weak crystallographic texture found in the microstructural analysis. The as-built geometry led to notable reductions in strength and ductility, particularly in as-built specimens loaded perpendicularly to the print layers. The results also showed that the thicker WAAM plates generally exhibited lower yield strength due mainly to the slower cooling rate leading to coarser grains, as revealed by the microstructural examinations. High porosity was observed in the XCT scan results of some coupons and was shown to significantly reduce the material ductility. Finally, the adopted active cooling method was found to increase productivity, but to have a minimal effect on the resulting mechanical properties. The presented findings contribute to the understanding of the material behaviour of WAAM steel and its link to the key process parameters.
Date Issued
2025-06-13
Date Acceptance
2025-03-26
Citation
Construction and Building Materials, 2025, 479
ISSN
0950-0618
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal / Book Title
Construction and Building Materials
Volume
479
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.141078
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
141078
Date Publish Online
2025-04-29