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Coupling thermodynamic simulation and thermal analysis to select Sn–Bi alloys for semisolid additive manufacturing

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Abstract

One of the most used additive manufacturing (AM) techniques is fused filament fabrication (FFF), which is primarily used for processing polymers. An interesting strategy to utilize this technique in metal processing is to adapt semisolid processing principles. Herein, low-melting Sn–Bi alloys were investigated to identify the ideal composition and processing conditions for semisolid AM using FFF. For this purpose, thermodynamic simulations were used to characterize the evolution of liquid fractions with temperature, and the results led to the selection of Sn-38Bi alloy (mass/%) for experimental validation. This composition was prepared by casting in an inert environment, followed by thermal analysis. The differential scanning calorimetry results were reasonably consistent with the simulated results. The as-cast Sn-38Bi was extruded to produce a metallic filament. To investigate the microstructural evolution in the semisolid state, samples from the filament were subjected to multiple heat treatments at different temperatures. Semisolid AM for the selected alloy was successfully performed at 170 °C. This process included extrusion and deposition without nozzle clogging or discontinuity formation. Various geometries were successfully fabricated, and the results demonstrated the efficacy of the FFF technique for processing metallic materials.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development), Grant 405054/2016-5, and Fapesp (São Paulo State Research Foundation), Grant 2018/18293-8.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil

    Dalton Daniel de Lima, Kaio Niitsu Campo & Rubens Caram

  2. National Institute of Technology (INT), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20081-312, Brazil

    Dalton Daniel de Lima

  3. Faculty of Science and Technology, Federal University of Goiás (UFG), Aparecida de Goiânia, GO, 74968-755, Brazil

    Kaio Niitsu Campo

Authors
  1. Dalton Daniel de Lima
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  2. Kaio Niitsu Campo
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Contributions

DDdeL: Conceptualization, Investigating, Formal Analysis, Writing—Review & Editing. KNC: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Writing—Original Draft. RC: Writing—Original Draft, Supervision, Funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Kaio Niitsu Campo.

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de Lima, D.D., Campo, K.N. & Caram, R. Coupling thermodynamic simulation and thermal analysis to select Sn–Bi alloys for semisolid additive manufacturing. J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 9423–9433 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12337-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12337-4

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