Effects of Very High Power Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing Process Parameters on Hardness, Microstructure, and Texture of Aluminum 3003-H18 Allo

Very High Power Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (VHP-UAM) was used to fabricate 10 layers and up to 80 layers samples from aluminum alloy 3003-H18 foil (Al3003-H18) of 150 betam thickness with varying vibration amplitude and normal force. This research was aimed at studying the change in hardness, microstructure, and texture in Al3003-H18 foil both in as-processed conditions and in heat-treated (343°C-2hr) condition compared to original foil, and to utilize neutron diffraction method to characterize the bulk texture analysis of the bulk VHP-UAM samples. Results from Vicker microhardness measurement, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), and neutron diffraction were used to describe the changes in hardness, microstructure, and texture. The difference in microstructure and texture evolution in VHP-UAM samples processed at different process parameters can be related to the energy input during VHP-UAM and the post-processing heat-treatment.