Relation between heat treatment and mechanical properties for additively manufactured Aluminum Alloy 356 for Aerospace Applications

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Additive Manufacturing (AM) refers to an emerging class of technologies that build 3D objects by the controlled addition of materials in a layer-by-layer fashion to produce objects at or near their final shape. This disruptive technology will significantly impact the aerospace industry. Aluminum alloys (AA) play a key role in lightweight aerospace components, where the bulk of the applications are covered by A356 alloy. However, to date, the bulk of the works have focused on traditional heat treatments, which were found to produce non-optimal mechanical response. In that context, this proposal will address the existing knowledge gaps linking the microstructure developed during AM-specific heat treatments with the mechanical properties with the aim of producing AM parts with improved static and cyclic mechanical properties. All industrial partners, i.e. AAC, Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Limited, Pratt Whitney Canada, Renishaw and FusiA are entering the project with specific objectives from their respective field of use. These include improving the knowledge to better process this alloy to increase the adoption rate of AM in the Al transformation sector. The vector used is to develop a low-cost avenue to provide spare legacy components and/or develop lightweight optimised parts to produce greener engines/aerostructures. Prof. Ma Brochu and Prof. My Brochu will strengthen their knowledge on AM in the field of new heat treatment development and understand the cyclic behaviour of AM parts.