Effect of interlayer TIG arc treatment on porosity of wire arc additive manufactured copper

Abstract

The presented experimental research explores interlayer arc treatment in wire arc additive manufacturing using TIG (WAAM-TIG) to minimise the porosity which adversely affects the mechanical properties. Copper was chosen for this study due to its extensive utilisation in industries. WAAM-TIG deposition along with interlayer arc treatment was performed in continuous (ATC) and pulsed (ATP) mode, and the results were compared with as-fabricated (AF) samples. Both, arc treated samples showed significant reduction in porosity, however, the ATP mode performed relatively better decreasing from ∼ 16 % to ∼ 1 %. Further arc-treated samples were also exhibited an increase in hardness ensuring improvement in mechanical property.