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A Perspective on Solid-State Additive Manufacturing of Aluminum Matrix Composites Using MELD

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Abstract

MELD, previously known as additive friction stir, is an emerging solid-state process that enables additive manufacturing of a broad range of metals and metal matrix composites. Here, we discuss its potential for fabricating aluminum matrix composites by showing examples of Al-SiC, Al 6061-Mo, and Al 6061-W composites. Thanks to its solid-state nature, MELD is uniquely suited for the use of high-strength aluminum alloys as matrix material, which would suffer from hot cracking problems in liquid-state processes. Using complementary characterization tools, we show that this process results in aluminum matrix composites with no observed porosity and homogeneous particle distribution. These properties stem from the extensive material flow and mixing during the deposition process. In addition to the high quality of produced composites, its ease of use, versatility of feed materials, and scalability all make MELD an attractive tool for additive manufacturing of aluminum matrix composites. We also discuss the limitations of MELD for composite fabrication, with issues related to maximum reinforcement loading, tool wear, and in-plane resolution. Finally, we compare the benefits and limitations of MELD with other composite fabrication processes such as powder bed fusion, friction stir processing, stir casting, and powder processing.

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Acknowledgments

MEJP would like to acknowledge the support from the Charles Blankenship Engineering Scholarship. HZY would like to acknowledge the support from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and College of Engineering at Virginia Tech.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Virginia Tech, 445 Old Turner Street, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    R. Joey Griffiths, Mackenzie E. J. Perry, Hunter A. Rauch & Hang Z. Yu

  2. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, MD, 21005, USA

    Jennifer M. Sietins

  3. Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1185 Perry Street, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Yunhui Zhu

  4. MELD Manufacturing Corporation, 200 Technology Drive, Christiansburg, VA, 24073, USA

    Nanci Hardwick & Chase D. Cox

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  1. R. Joey Griffiths
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  2. Mackenzie E. J. Perry
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  8. Hang Z. Yu
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Correspondence to Hang Z. Yu.

Additional information

This article is an invited paper selected from presentations at the symposium “Non-Beam-based Additive Manufacturing Approaches for Metallic Parts,” held during MS&T’17, October 8–12, 2017, in Pittsburgh, PA, and has been expanded from the original presentation.

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Griffiths, R.J., Perry, M.E.J., Sietins, J.M. et al. A Perspective on Solid-State Additive Manufacturing of Aluminum Matrix Composites Using MELD. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 28, 648–656 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-018-3649-3

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