Influence of aloe-vera powder addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of wire plus arc additively manufactured ER70S-6 steel

ER70S-6 steel Wire Arc Additive Manufactured deposit was fabricated using Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) under two conditions: without and with aloe-vera powder. Aloe-vera is added at the interlayer during deposition. The effect on microstructure evolution, hardness and tensile properties due to addition of aloe-vera were investigated. Without aloe-vera deposits recorded non-uniform microstructure from lower to upper zone, resulting in wide variation in hardness. On the other hand, presence of aloe-vera minimized the microstructural inhomogeneities. The presence of aloe-vera also suppressed the formation of bainite phase and stabilize the hardness throughout the deposit. The tensile strength of the aloe-vera added deposit also increases compared to without powder particle deposit.