Improving microstructure and mechanical properties of WAAMed Al with UV introduced via a torch clamp

Ultrasonic assisting is considered to be a promising technology for industrial applications due to its ability to improve the quality of the WAAMed component. A specially designed ultrasonically vibrating torch clamp (UV torch clamp) was used to introduce the UV in the WAAM process of Al alloy for the first time. UV effect on the forming accuracy, microstructure and mechanical properties of WAAMed Al thin-walled component were investigated. The results show that the UV applied via the UV torch clamp changed the metal transfer mode, and increased the transfer frequency by at least 7.42% compared with that without UV at various Wire Feed Speed ( WFS s). The applied UV caused slight increases in the surface roughness of the deposited thin-wall components at low WFS s and obvious decreases at high WFS s, the most significant reduction occurred with WFS = 8 m min −1 , the surface roughness decreased from 1.04 to 0.44. The grain size and the pore size and density in the deposit were significantly reduced by the UV, and the higher the WFS, the greater the grain refinement effectiveness and the pore suppression effectiveness. The UTS and fracture elongation of the specimen with UV application increased by at least 4.6% (from 277 Mpa to 290 Mpa for longitudinal specimen with WFS = 5 m min −1 , ) and 3.3% (from 21.42% to 22.12% for vertical specimen with WFS = 8 m min −1 ) respectively at various WFS s compared to the specimen without UV application.