High-temperature mechanical properties of AlSi10Mg specimens fabricated by additive manufacturing using selective laser melting technologies (AM-SLM)

Mechanical properties (tensile strength and creep) of AlSi10Mg specimens fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) in the Z-direction were investigated in the 25-400 °C temperature range. Specimens were tested after stress relief treatment. The results revealed that yield stress (YS) significantly decreases and the elongation increases at temperatures higher than 200 °C. The ultimate tensile stress (UTS) continuously decreases with temperature. The creep parameters, namely stress exponent n and apparent activation energy Q, were found to be 25 ± 2 and 146 ± 20 kJ/mole, respectively. It was shown that plastic deformation during creep is governed by dislocation movements in primary aluminum grains. The tested material is actually an aluminum composite reinforced by sub-micron Si particles. The creep resistance of AlSi10Mg alloy fabricated by selective laser melting is close to that for aluminum matrix particles reinforced composites.