Comparative Ambient and Elevated Temperature Wear Performance of an AlSi10Mg Alloy Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Casting
P. Thasleem, B. Kuriachen and M.L. Joy
Selective laser melting (SLM) is an innovative additive manufacturing (AM) technique that starts with a three-dimensional (3-D) computer-aided design (CAD) model and uses high energy laser beams to selectively melt and fuse thin layers of metal powder to simplify the design and manufacture of complex components. The current research compares the wear performance of SLM processed AlSi10Mg alloy to that of conventionally cast AlSi10Mg alloy at both ambient and elevated temperatures. A pin on disk tribometer with EN31 alloy steel as the counter body was used in the dry sliding wear experiment. The SLM AlSi10Mg alloy sample showed higher wear resistance at both testing conditions as compared to cast sample owing to the significant enhancement in hardness via microstructural refinement of SLM technology.
Keywords: Fibre laser, AlSi10Mg alloy, EN31 alloy steel, selective laser melting (SLM), casting, wear, dry sliding, pin on disk