A high strength Al-2Ni-0.5Zr conductor alloy fabricated via laser powder bed fusion

Nicholas A. Richter; Jovid Rakhmonov; Jonathan D. Poplawsky; Alice Perrin; J. Allen Haynes; Amit Shyam; Alex Plotkowski; Sumit Bahl

doi:10.1016/j.msea.2025.149251

A high strength Al-2Ni-0.5Zr conductor alloy fabricated via laser powder bed fusion

Nicholas A. Richter, Jovid Rakhmonov, Jonathan D. Poplawsky, Alice Perrin, J. Allen Haynes, Amit Shyam, Alex Plotkowski, Sumit Bahl

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

There is a current need for new aluminum alloy design strategies to target applications requiring high strength and conductivity with reductions in mass. A new lightweight Al-2Ni-0.5Zr (wt. %) conductor alloy was fabricated using laser powder bed fusion. A design of experiments probed the alloy's solidification cracking susceptibility. It was observed that solidification cracking was generally reduced with fast scan speeds, above 1500 mm/s, and smaller hatch spacings. The different cooling rates throughout the melt pool produced a heterogeneous distribution of cellular and equiaxed Al₃Ni precipitates in the as-printed alloy. Additionally, the rapid solidification characteristic of laser powder bed fusion created a super-saturated Zr solid solution. An aging heat treatment at 375 °C for 24 h imparted strengthening through the precipitation of L1₂-Al₃Zr nanoprecipitates, which counteracted the softening caused by the fragmentation and coarsening of Al₃Ni precipitates. The yield strength increased from 138 MPa in the as-printed condition to 168 MPa after aging, while the ductility remained constant at ∼21 %. The aging treatment simultaneously increased the electrical conductivity from 40.8 % IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard) to 53.5 % IACS. Modeling of the strengthening mechanisms and electrical conductivity contributions rationalized the simultaneous increase in strength and conductivity upon aging. The strengthening efficacy of the Al₃Ni and L1₂-Al₃Zr precipitates, combined with the low Ni and Zr solubility in the FCC Al matrix, facilitated both high strength and electrical conductivity. Overall, the combination of strength and electrical conductivity positions this alloy as a suitable choice for additively manufactured lightweight conductors.

Original language	English
Article number	149251
Journal	Materials Science and Engineering: A
Volume	948
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2025.149251
State	Published - Dec 2025

Funding

Notice: This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (https://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan).The research was sponsored by the Powertrain Materials Core Program under the Vehicle Technologies Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, US Department of Energy. A portion of this research was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility This research was conducted, in part, using instrumentation within ORNL's Materials Characterization Core provided by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The authors thank D. Cody Taylor, Brian Long, Caitlin Duggan, Dana McClurg, and Kelsey Epps for their assistance with sample preparation, heat treatments and mechanical testing.

Keywords

Additive manufacturing
Aluminum alloys
Electrical conductivity
Laser powder bed fusion
Tensile properties

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10.1016/j.msea.2025.149251

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title = "A high strength Al-2Ni-0.5Zr conductor alloy fabricated via laser powder bed fusion",

abstract = "There is a current need for new aluminum alloy design strategies to target applications requiring high strength and conductivity with reductions in mass. A new lightweight Al-2Ni-0.5Zr (wt. \%) conductor alloy was fabricated using laser powder bed fusion. A design of experiments probed the alloy's solidification cracking susceptibility. It was observed that solidification cracking was generally reduced with fast scan speeds, above 1500 mm/s, and smaller hatch spacings. The different cooling rates throughout the melt pool produced a heterogeneous distribution of cellular and equiaxed Al3Ni precipitates in the as-printed alloy. Additionally, the rapid solidification characteristic of laser powder bed fusion created a super-saturated Zr solid solution. An aging heat treatment at 375 °C for 24 h imparted strengthening through the precipitation of L12-Al3Zr nanoprecipitates, which counteracted the softening caused by the fragmentation and coarsening of Al3Ni precipitates. The yield strength increased from 138 MPa in the as-printed condition to 168 MPa after aging, while the ductility remained constant at ∼21 \%. The aging treatment simultaneously increased the electrical conductivity from 40.8 \% IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard) to 53.5 \% IACS. Modeling of the strengthening mechanisms and electrical conductivity contributions rationalized the simultaneous increase in strength and conductivity upon aging. The strengthening efficacy of the Al3Ni and L12-Al3Zr precipitates, combined with the low Ni and Zr solubility in the FCC Al matrix, facilitated both high strength and electrical conductivity. Overall, the combination of strength and electrical conductivity positions this alloy as a suitable choice for additively manufactured lightweight conductors.",

keywords = "Additive manufacturing, Aluminum alloys, Electrical conductivity, Laser powder bed fusion, Tensile properties",

author = "Richter, \{Nicholas A.\} and Jovid Rakhmonov and Poplawsky, \{Jonathan D.\} and Alice Perrin and Haynes, \{J. Allen\} and Amit Shyam and Alex Plotkowski and Sumit Bahl",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 Elsevier B.V.",

year = "2025",

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doi = "10.1016/j.msea.2025.149251",

language = "English",

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T1 - A high strength Al-2Ni-0.5Zr conductor alloy fabricated via laser powder bed fusion

AU - Richter, Nicholas A.

AU - Rakhmonov, Jovid

AU - Poplawsky, Jonathan D.

AU - Perrin, Alice

AU - Haynes, J. Allen

AU - Shyam, Amit

AU - Plotkowski, Alex

AU - Bahl, Sumit

PY - 2025/12

Y1 - 2025/12

N2 - There is a current need for new aluminum alloy design strategies to target applications requiring high strength and conductivity with reductions in mass. A new lightweight Al-2Ni-0.5Zr (wt. %) conductor alloy was fabricated using laser powder bed fusion. A design of experiments probed the alloy's solidification cracking susceptibility. It was observed that solidification cracking was generally reduced with fast scan speeds, above 1500 mm/s, and smaller hatch spacings. The different cooling rates throughout the melt pool produced a heterogeneous distribution of cellular and equiaxed Al3Ni precipitates in the as-printed alloy. Additionally, the rapid solidification characteristic of laser powder bed fusion created a super-saturated Zr solid solution. An aging heat treatment at 375 °C for 24 h imparted strengthening through the precipitation of L12-Al3Zr nanoprecipitates, which counteracted the softening caused by the fragmentation and coarsening of Al3Ni precipitates. The yield strength increased from 138 MPa in the as-printed condition to 168 MPa after aging, while the ductility remained constant at ∼21 %. The aging treatment simultaneously increased the electrical conductivity from 40.8 % IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard) to 53.5 % IACS. Modeling of the strengthening mechanisms and electrical conductivity contributions rationalized the simultaneous increase in strength and conductivity upon aging. The strengthening efficacy of the Al3Ni and L12-Al3Zr precipitates, combined with the low Ni and Zr solubility in the FCC Al matrix, facilitated both high strength and electrical conductivity. Overall, the combination of strength and electrical conductivity positions this alloy as a suitable choice for additively manufactured lightweight conductors.

AB - There is a current need for new aluminum alloy design strategies to target applications requiring high strength and conductivity with reductions in mass. A new lightweight Al-2Ni-0.5Zr (wt. %) conductor alloy was fabricated using laser powder bed fusion. A design of experiments probed the alloy's solidification cracking susceptibility. It was observed that solidification cracking was generally reduced with fast scan speeds, above 1500 mm/s, and smaller hatch spacings. The different cooling rates throughout the melt pool produced a heterogeneous distribution of cellular and equiaxed Al3Ni precipitates in the as-printed alloy. Additionally, the rapid solidification characteristic of laser powder bed fusion created a super-saturated Zr solid solution. An aging heat treatment at 375 °C for 24 h imparted strengthening through the precipitation of L12-Al3Zr nanoprecipitates, which counteracted the softening caused by the fragmentation and coarsening of Al3Ni precipitates. The yield strength increased from 138 MPa in the as-printed condition to 168 MPa after aging, while the ductility remained constant at ∼21 %. The aging treatment simultaneously increased the electrical conductivity from 40.8 % IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard) to 53.5 % IACS. Modeling of the strengthening mechanisms and electrical conductivity contributions rationalized the simultaneous increase in strength and conductivity upon aging. The strengthening efficacy of the Al3Ni and L12-Al3Zr precipitates, combined with the low Ni and Zr solubility in the FCC Al matrix, facilitated both high strength and electrical conductivity. Overall, the combination of strength and electrical conductivity positions this alloy as a suitable choice for additively manufactured lightweight conductors.

KW - Additive manufacturing

KW - Aluminum alloys

KW - Electrical conductivity

KW - Laser powder bed fusion

KW - Tensile properties

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105019106942

U2 - 10.1016/j.msea.2025.149251

DO - 10.1016/j.msea.2025.149251

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105019106942

SN - 0921-5093

VL - 948

JO - Materials Science and Engineering: A

JF - Materials Science and Engineering: A

M1 - 149251

ER -

A high strength Al-2Ni-0.5Zr conductor alloy fabricated via laser powder bed fusion

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