Effect of the order of component deposition on the structure of the transition zone of bimetallic structures produced using high-performance electron beam additive manufacturing

A method of wire electron beam additive manufacturing of cylindrical bimetallic products made of CuAl9Mn2 aluminum bronze and 13Mn6 ferrite-perlitic steel was proposed for the first time to achieve strong defect-free joining of components. Cylindrical bimetallic tribotechnical components based on 13Mn6 steel and CuAl9Mn2 bronze showed a high degree of structural homogeneity and defect-free gradient zone structure when bronze was applied over steel. When the steel component is applied over bronze, the degree of mutual mixing of the components in the gradient zone increases sharply due to the high temperature of the steel relative to the bronze base. This leads to the formation of defects in the form of cracks and delaminations in the boundary zone. Despite the inhomogeneous structure of the transition zone of the samples where steel is applied over bronze, no embrittlement of the material due to infiltration of bronze into the imperfections of the steel fragment is observed, and the mechanical properties of the steel and the transition zone even exceed the similar parameters of the samples where bronze is applied over steel. The studies have shown that by the method of wire electron beam additive technology it is possible to form large-size structures from heterogeneous materials with strong and defect-free connection of components. The results obtained show that there are still tasks for further modification of the technology of wire electron beam printing of products of “bronze−steel” system with application of steel over bronze.