Effect of active substrate cooling in wire arc additive manufacturing for manganese‐rich low‐carbon steel

Abstract The abstract presents a study on the impact of cooling on the substrate during the wire arc additive manufacturing process on microstructure, mechanical properties, and corrosion behaviour of deposited specimens of manganese‐rich low‐carbon steel. Through a combination of experimental investigations and quantitative analyses, the study reveals the correlations between varying cooling rates and resulting material properties, such as finer grain structure. The cooling rate has been measured through the thermocouple temperature and observed time till room temperature. The average hardness increased from 172 HVN to 183 HVN and ultimate tensile strength increased from 526 MPa to 585.17 MPa which is 11.2 % higher with a significant increase in elongation from 22.3 % to 32.4 % due to the finer grain structure and reduced heat‐affected zone. The result also shows how the corrosion behaviour changes with the solidification rate and also illuminates the effect on surface roughness. This work contributes to advancing the understanding of process‐structure‐property relationships in additive manufacturing and offers insights for cooling strategies to achieve desired material characteristics in this specific context.