Additive manufacturing as a processing route for steel-aluminum bimetallic structures

[Display omitted] •For the first time, additive manufacturing was explored as a processing route for the fabrication of steel-aluminum bi-metallic structures.•Challenges associated with fabrication unraveled using coupled thermodynamics, thermo-mechanical modeling, and advanced characterization techniques.•Potential pathways which can enable the fabrication of steel and aluminum structures by additive manufacturing proposed. Here we present results on the fabrication of steel-aluminum bi-metallic structures using directed energy deposition additive manufacturing. The challenges associated with the fabrication of a sharp transition from steel to aluminum are uncovered using ex-situ characterization techniques and thermo-mechanical modeling of the deposition process. It was found that the fabrication of a sharp steel-aluminum transition is challenging with extensive cracking observed at the interface. The cracking was attributed to the combined effect of residual stress development due to thermal expansion coefficient mismatch and the presence of ordered intermetallics with low ductility at the interface. Using a coupled thermodynamic and thermo-mechanical modeling approach, potential pathways to enable the fabrication of steel-aluminum bi-metallic structures using additive manufacturing are proposed. The results presented here can lay the foundation for future work on the fabrication of bi-metallic steel-aluminum structures using directed energy deposition.