Enhancing Mechanical Performance in GMAW-based WAAM with Fe-rich CuAlNi Electrode Refinement

Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) based wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is a promising manufacturing method widely used in various industries. In this study, for the first time, a new type of combined electrode wire with multi-element composition has been designed and developed for arc additive manufacturing of a composite alloy Fe rich-Al-Cu-Ni alloy. GMAW-based WAAM technique technology composed of 4 filaments and 4 elements has the advantages of high deposition efficiency, self-rotation of welding arc, and energy-saving capability. Thin composite alloy walls were fabricated under pure CO2 gas using GMAWbased WAAM technique technology. To investigate the effect of the parameters introduced by the gas metal arc welding process based on wire arc additive manufacturing, the produced components of the sample layer by layer with different parameters after production are characterized by scanning electron microscope morphologies, X-ray diffraction Microstructural observations of the developed combined electrode reveal (i) BCC and FCC phases, (ii) Good bonding between layers and (iii) defect-free microstructure. Therefore, an experimental design using the Taguchi method was used to determine the parameters affecting the studied properties, including yield strength (YS) and elongation (E). The developed combined electrode alloy exhibits high compression strength (~294 GPa) coupled with high elongation (~0.22%) values (possess both strength and ductility). It has been identified that by varying the heat input via torch travel speed, the microstructure and mechanical properties of the combined electrode can be controlled. Therefore, optimizing GMAW process parameters to produce effective products is of great importance. The experimental results show that voltage and wire speed are the dominant variables that affect the values of YS and E at the test surface. In addition, the contribution of each factor to YS and E was determined. Which can be effectively Corrected with this method.