Zn-Based Alloys for Plain Bearings-Influence of Al and Cu Content on Mechanical Properties.

In recent decades, the requirements for plain bearing materials have continually increased, especially with new applications such as wind turbines, which require larger bearings. These new applications have completely different property profiles compared with, for example, bearings in automotive construction. Larger bearings need high strength and wear resistance, which established bearing materials cannot fulfill.

Preheating Influence on the Precipitation Microstructure, Mechanical and Corrosive Properties of Additively Built Al-Cu-Li Alloy Contrasted with Conventional (T83) Alloy.

In this paper, the high strength and lightweight Al-Cu-Li alloy (AA2099) is considered in as-built and preheated conditions (440 °C, 460 °C, 480 °C, 500 °C, and 520 °C). The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) in situ preheating on precipitation microstructure, mechanical and corrosive properties of LPBF-printed AA2099 alloy compared to the conventionally processed and heat-treated (T83) alloy. It is shown that precipitations evolve with increasing preheating temperatures from predominantly globular Cu-rich phases at lower temperatures (as-built, 440 °C) to more plate and rod-like precipitates (460 °C, 480 °C, 500 °C and 520 °C).

Characterising the Microstructure of an Additively Built Al-Cu-Li Alloy.

Al-Cu-Li alloys are famous for their high strength, ductility and weight-saving properties, and have for many years been the aerospace alloy of choice. Depending on the alloy composition, this multi-phase system may give rise to several phases, including the major strengthening T (AlCuLi) phase. Microstructure investigations have extensively been reported for conventionally processed alloys with little focus on their Additive Manufacturing (AM) characterised microstructures.