Microstructural consistency in the additive manufactured metallic materials: A study on the laser powder bed fusion of AlSi10Mg

In the current study, the microstructural consistency in a laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) AlSi10Mg material is investigated. A rectangular sample with a height of 40 mm is fabricated through the L-PBF technique. The main aim of the study is to analyze the effect of the repeated thermal cycles on the hierarchical characteristics of the microstructure in solid state. While the top of the sample represents the material experienced the minimum numbers of repeated thermal cycles, by moving towards the bottom of the sample more repeated thermal cycles experienced by the material. The microstructure of the material is investigated in terms of the grain and cell structures, and the precipitates characteristics. It is observed that the grain and cell structures are consistent throughout the height since they develop during the solidification process and are not affected by the repeated thermal cycles. On the other hand, these repeated thermal cycles affect the characteristics of the precipitates and the chemistry of the matrix. Although the precipitates' characteristics change under the effect of the repeated thermal cycles, these changes do not affect the strength of the material significantly.