Recently, the team led by Assistant Professor Li Zan at the National Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University generated research results with the help of BLT-S210 and published the paper “Enhanced strengthening and hardening via self-stabilized dislocation network in additively manufactured metals” in Materials Today (Impact Factor: 31.04). The stable ultramicro-dislocation cell structure in additively manufactured metals plays a key role in strengthening and hardening. However, its activity is usually considered to be related to the alloying element. This paper reported that dislocation cells in 3D printed metallic materials would remain self-stabilizing even in the absence of alloying effects.
It was found that Lomer dislocation lock and complex dislocation network were formed in the multiple heating-cooling cycles inherent to the additive manufacturing technology. Such unique dislocation configuration produced enhanced and stable effect of strain hardening, which in turn resulted in the 3D printed metallic material of copper with significantly better mechanical property than that of the copper materials produced in conventional methods. This work demonstrates the ability of laser-selective melting to modulate the dislocation structure to achieve high-performance metallic materials.
It is learned that Professor Li’s team, relying on BLT-S210 purchased in 2020, has published a number of research achievements in leading international journals in the field of metals such as International Journal of Plasticity, Scripta Materialia, Materials Research Letters and so on. “BLT-S210, a specialized machine with small forming size developed specifically for basic research, reduces the powder mass of several kilograms required for conventional metal printing to several hundred grams, which greatly improves the efficiency and versatility of basic research“, Professor Li said. “At the same time, the good stability and convenience in operation of BLT-S210 also provide an important guarantee for the development and creation of new material systems”, Professor Li added.
