Microstructure and Properties of Crack-Free Ti-Modified 6063 Aluminum Alloy TPMS Porous Structures Fabricated by LPBF

6063 aluminum alloy has broad application prospects in aerospace and microelectronic thermal management systems due to its good thermal conductivity and moderate strength. However, its extremely high hot cracking susceptibility during the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process limits the direct manufacturing of complex components. This study proposes a strategy combining material composition modification with advanced structural design. By introducing TiH2 nanoparticles (1.0~4.5 wt.%) to modify the 6063 aluminum alloy powder, Diamond-type porous structures based on triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) were successfully fabricated using LPBF technology. The results show that the introduction of TiH2 significantly suppresses the solidification cracking of the aluminum alloy. The underlying mechanism is that the L12-structured Al3Ti particles, generated by the in situ decomposition of TiH2 in the melt pool, provide high-density heterogeneous nucleation sites. This leads to a drastic decrease in the average grain size from 30.46 μm to 0.75 μm (a reduction of 97.5%), achieving a remarkable columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET). In terms of mechanical properties, the 3.0 wt.% TiH2 addition group exhibits excellent plateau stress (28.5 MPa) and energy absorption capacity, which is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of fine-grain strengthening and Orowan dispersion strengthening. Thermal tests reveal that the thermal conductivity of the 3.0 wt.% group reaches 123 W/(m·K) at 100 °C. The healing of cracks reconstructs the macroscopic heat conduction paths, resulting in a significant improvement in thermal conductivity compared with the unmodified group. This work provides a theoretical reference for the development of high-performance, crack-free, and multi-functional integrated aluminum alloy components via additive manufacturing.

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Journal
Materials
Published
2026-04-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19091784
Primary Topic
Cellular and Composite Structures
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Microstructure and Properties of Crack-Free Ti-Modified 6063 Aluminum Alloy TPMS Porous Structures Fabricated by LPBF

Wenhao Jiang, Y J Liu, Zhenhua Fan, Mingsheng Huang et al.
Materials
Cellular and Composite Structures
article

Microstructure and Properties of Crack-Free Ti-Modified 6063 Aluminum Alloy TPMS Porous Structures Fabricated by LPBF

Wenhao Jiang, Y J Liu, Zhenhua Fan, Mingsheng Huang, Zian Pan
article en

Abstract

6063 aluminum alloy has broad application prospects in aerospace and microelectronic thermal management systems due to its good thermal conductivity and moderate strength. However, its extremely high hot cracking susceptibility during the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process limits the direct manufacturing of complex components. This study proposes a strategy combining material composition modification with advanced structural design. By introducing TiH2 nanoparticles (1.0~4.5 wt.%) to modify the 6063 aluminum alloy powder, Diamond-type porous structures based on triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) were successfully fabricated using LPBF technology. The results show that the introduction of TiH2 significantly suppresses the solidification cracking of the aluminum alloy. The underlying mechanism is that the L12-structured Al3Ti particles, generated by the in situ decomposition of TiH2 in the melt pool, provide high-density heterogeneous nucleation sites. This leads to a drastic decrease in the average grain size from 30.46 μm to 0.75 μm (a reduction of 97.5%), achieving a remarkable columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET). In terms of mechanical properties, the 3.0 wt.% TiH2 addition group exhibits excellent plateau stress (28.5 MPa) and energy absorption capacity, which is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of fine-grain strengthening and Orowan dispersion strengthening. Thermal tests reveal that the thermal conductivity of the 3.0 wt.% group reaches 123 W/(m·K) at 100 °C. The healing of cracks reconstructs the macroscopic heat conduction paths, resulting in a significant improvement in thermal conductivity compared with the unmodified group. This work provides a theoretical reference for the development of high-performance, crack-free, and multi-functional integrated aluminum alloy components via additive manufacturing.

MaterialsVol. 19(9)
Guangdong Institute of New Materials (CN), South China University of Technology (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Cellular and Composite Structures
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