Microstructure and mechanical properties of additive manufactured copper alloy

• High density Cu-Cr-Zr-Ti specimens have been fabricated by selective laser melting.
• Mechanical tests showed good results at room and elevated temperatures.
• SLM parameters optimization and HIP treatment are suggested to reduce porosity.

Cu-Cr-Zr-Ti alloy specimens have been fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) technology with a high relative density. Their microstructure and mechanical properties at room conditions as related to elevated temperatures have been investigated after solution annealing and aging of the material and compared to hot-rolled samples. The microstructure of the SLM material consists of grains elongated along build direction with the size in the range from 30 to 250 µm. The mechanical test showed that the SLM material has 195–211 MPa ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and 11–16% elongation at break at 20 °С. Samples produced parallel to the build direction show slightly higher UTS and elongation at break in comparison with samples fabricated perpendicular to the build direction. The UTS of the SLM samples is approximately 20–25% lower compared to the hot-rolled samples. The study revealed that SLM technology can be successfully utilized to produce complex-shaped copper alloy parts with high density and good mechanical properties.