Fig. 2: Microstructure and properties.
From: Controlling process instability for defect lean metal additive manufacturing
a, b Surface profiles of the as-printed top surface of Al6061 (a) and Al6061+4.4vol.%TiC (b). c Surface roughness (Ra) and maximum height difference (Rm) of the as-printed top surface. The error bars represent the standard deviation. d, e X-ray images of as-printed Al6061 (d) and as-printed Al6061+4.4vol.%TiC (e) samples. f SEM image showing TiC nanoparticle distribution in the cross-section of the as-printed Al6061+4.4vol.%TiC. The sample is tilted 52° to show nanoparticles more clearly. g, h Inverse pole figure (IPF) images of the as-printed Al6061 (g) and the as-printed Al6061+4.4vol.%TiC (h). Black color in g represents cracks or pores. i Representative tensile test curves. The sudden drop of strength at the strain of 1% is caused by the extensometer removal. j The variation coefficient of yield strength, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and elongation. The as-printed Al6061 sample was not tested because it contains too many cracks (as shown in d).
