Effects of active interlayer cooling on the mechanical properties of wire arc additively manufactured carbon steel
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) has significant potential in the construction industry owing to its high productivity, cost-effectiveness and high degree of automation. However, the understanding of active interlayer cooling (AIC) and its effects remains limited. To address this gap, three carbon steel plates were fabricated via WAAM using ER50–6 welding wire under natural cooling, active compressed air cooling and active water spray cooling, respectively. A total of 45 as-built and machined tensile coupons were tested to systematically investigate the effects of AIC strategies on geometric and stress–strain characteristics. The results show that the examined WAAM carbon steel exhibited a stress–strain response comparable to that of hot-rolled normal-strength carbon steels. The effective mechanical properties were influenced by the geometric topography; specifically, surface undulations introduced anisotropy and negatively affected mechanical properties, reducing the fracture strain by up to 18%. The AIC strategies effectively mitigated heat accumulation and significantly reduced interlayer dwell time, thereby increasing the productivity to up to 2.35 times that for natural cooling. In terms of mechanical properties, the average yield strengths under natural cooling, active compressed air cooling and active water spray cooling were 354.8, 354.7 and 357.3 MPa, respectively; the tensile strengths under the two active cooling strategies were also comparable to those associated with natural cooling, whereas the fracture strain generally decreased, with a maximum reduction of 12%. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the employed AIC strategies and the minimum impact on the resulting mechanical properties. Overall, the examined WAAM carbon steel with AIC exhibited consistent mechanical properties and enhanced production efficiency, satisfying the requirements for structural engineering applications.
Date Issued
2026-12-01
Date Acceptance
2026-08-14
Citation
Thin-Walled Structures, 2026, 231, Part C
ISSN
0263-8231
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal / Book Title
Thin-Walled Structures
Volume
231, Part C
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. This is the author’s accepted manuscript made available under a CC-BY licence in accordance with Imperial’s Research Publications Open Access policy (www.imperial.ac.uk/oa-policy)
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
115535
Date Publish Online
2026-08-17