An Aluminum-Lithium Allloy Produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Aluminum-lithium (Al-Li) alloys are promising to replace traditional high-strength aluminum alloys in aerospace and military industries due to their low density, high specific strength, and excellent corrosion resistance. However, there is little research focused on the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of Al-Li alloys due to their poor weldability and high crack susceptibility. In this study, the feasibility of the Al-Li alloy fabricated by LPBF was investigated. The effect of the processing parameters on the densification and crack formation behavior was studied. Finally, after optimizing the processing parameters, crack-free and nearly fully dense 2195 Al-Li alloy 3D-printed samples were obtained. A relative density of 99.92% and a microhardness of 89.1 HV were achieved.