An investigation into wire arc additive manufacturing of Mg-Y-RE-Zr alloy

This work fabricates Mg-4Y-3RE-0.5Zr alloy by wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM). The oxidation in-clusion, as one of the main defects in the Y-containing Mg alloys prepared by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), has not been observed. However, microstructural inhomogeneity along the building height appears due to the combined effect of the different cooling rates of different deposited layers and the subsequent multiple thermal cycles (MTCs). The effect of the microstructural inhomogeneity on the hardness distribution of the deposited wall was also revealed. It is believed that this study provides some new findings to the additive manufacturing of high-performance magnesium rare-earth (Mg-RE) alloys.