Circumventing Solidification Cracking Susceptibility in Al-Cu Alloys Prepared by Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of Al-Cu alloys shows high susceptibility to cracking due to a wide solidification temperature range. In this work, 2024 alloys were manufactured by LPBF at different laser processing parameters. The effect of processing parameters on the densification behavior and mechanical properties of the LPBF-processed 2024 alloys was investigated. The results show that the porosity increases significantly with increasing laser power, while the number of cracks and lack-of-fusion defects increase distinctly with increasing scan speed. The solidification cracking susceptibility of the LPBF-processed 2024 alloys prepared at different processing parameters was analyzed based on a finite element model, which was accurately predicted by theoretical calculations. Dense and crack-free 2024 samples with a high densification of over 98.1% were manufactured at a low laser power of 200 W combined with a low laser scan speed of 100 mm/s. The LPBF-processed 2024 alloys show a high hardness of 110 ± 4 HV_0.2, an ultimate tensile strength of 300 ± 15 MPa, and an elongation of ∼3%. This work can serve as reference for obtaining crack-free and high-performance Al-Cu alloys by LPBF.