Muñoz Bolaños Jairo Alberto
Additive manufacturing (AM) processes have attracted considerable interest in the scientific community during the last five years. This research work presents the 3D printing of a hypoeutectic Al alloy obtained by the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technique. The initially printed material presented a cellular Al matrix microstructure with interconnected Si networks. Different tensile behaviors were found depending on the orientation of the specimens for both the initial material and after the annealing heat treatment. The specimens cut in the printing direction recorded lower ductility values, while those from the perpendicular plane and in the radial direction showed higher ductility and strength values. Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD) through High-Pressure Torsion (HPT) was used as a tool to measure the 3D printed material quality. In this way, the material was subjected to different deformation levels after ¼, ½, and 1 HPT turns at room temperature. The as-printed material shows cracks after ¼ HPT turn, while the annealed condition withstands the HPT process without any cracks formation.