Fabrication, characterisation, and finite element analysis of cold metal transfer–based wire and arc additive–manufactured aluminium alloy 4043 cylinder

An aluminium alloy (AA) cylinder measuring 145 mm diameter (∅) and 11 mm height was produced by wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) using ER4043 filler wire and cold metal transfer (CMT) welding process. The macrostructure examination of the WAAM-processed cylinder revealed excellent bonding between the deposited layers without defects and exhibited superior structural integrity. The tensile strength and elongation percentage were recorded for 0°, 45°, and 90° orientations and enhanced properties were observed compared with wrought counterpart. The hardness of additive layers steadily varied from bottom to top in the range of 58 to 46 HV. The microstructure of multi-layer additive deposits comprised of equiaxed and columnar dendrite structures. The fractured tensile specimen was characterised using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), which showed the presence of dimple-like structures revealing the ductile fracture. Finite element (FE) analysis was conducted using abaqus welding interface plug-in to predict the stress, strain, and temperature distributions at various stages of additive layer depositions.