Life cycle assessment and energy characterization of friction surfacing deposition of aluminum alloys

In this work, an experimental investigation of Friction Surfacing Deposition (FSD) using the 2000-series heat-treatable aluminum alloy was performed including the environmental impact characterization of the process. The effect of main controlling process parameters and their interactions on energy demand during the single layer deposition was evaluated. A full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis was conducted for layer-by-layer deposition and a comparison of FSD with the Cold Metal Transfer Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) was performed for a specific wall-shaped sample production. It was observed that the FSD process is characterized by lower processing energy than WAAM, but also by a much higher amount of material scrap connected to undeposited parts of consumable tools such as a flash. To assess the possibility of reducing the material waste during FSD, the comparative LCA analysis was expanded to study the impact of the deposited layer length. It was shown that the FSD method can be a more environmentally friendly process when the deposition of at least 450-mm-long layer using a unique tool is required. • SEC with varying deposition rate and process scrap quantification of FSD is presented. • A comparative LCA analysis between FSD and WAAM is carried out. • Environmental impact of FSD technology is badly affected by the larger amount of process scrap. • The LCA comparative analysis is developed with varying the deposition length. • For deposition lengths shorter than 462 mm WAAM outperforms FSD, otherwise FSD is to be preferred.