Investigation of cavitation erosion resistance of AlSi10Mg alloy for additive manufacturing

This study investigates the cavitation erosion resistance of AlSi10Mg additive manufactured samples according to the ASTM G32 standard, in comparison with the cast ones. Samples were tested in different conditions in order to analyse the effect of T6 heat treatment and hot isostatic pressing, while cast samples were studied in as-cast and heat-treated conditions. It was found that additive manufactured AlSi10Mg alloy shows outstanding cavitation erosion resistance, in comparison to the cast alloy, mainly due to the ultra-fine microstructure. This superior performance of as-produced AlSi10Mg additive manufactured samples was demonstrated by the extremely limited mass loss and erosion rate measured during the tests, coupled with a remarkably long incubation stage. On the other hand, the heat treatment proves detrimental to the cavitation resistance of additive manufactured material due to the microstructure modification and pores enlargement. Hot isostatic pressing only partially improves the alloy performance. •Resistance to cavitation erosion of additive manufactured AlSi10Mg was evaluated.•Effect of both heat treatment and hot isostatic pressing was taken into account.•Tests were performed as comparison on AlSi10Mg casting.•The as-built additive manufactured AlSi10Mg shows exceptional cavitation resistance.•AM-T6 alloy shows lower performance because of the higher porosity and coarser microstructure.