High-performance manufacturing of metal components via multi-field assisted wire-arc directed energy deposition

Abstract

Wire-arc directed energy deposition (DED), an important branch of additive manufacturing, offers high material utilization and deposition rates for fabricating large-scale components. Although wire-arc DED has many advantages over other additive manufacturing methods, it faces challenges such as low geometric dimensional accuracy, coarse grain structures, and high porosity rates, which hinder its widespread industrial adoption, particularly for large-scale component manufacturing. The advanced energy field-assisted wire-arc DED addresses those issues by using multiple energy fields to influence the melting and solidification behaviors in the wire-arc DED process, thereby improving its manufacturing accuracy and enhancing component performance. This paper reviews the state-of-art development of energy field-assisted wire-arc DED, and explores future research priorities, aiming to provide into wire-arc DED of large metal components. Firstly, the application and advancements of four energy fields utilized in wire-arc DED: magnetic field (MF), ultrasonic vibration (UV), laser, and deformation field, are elucidated. Subsequently, the working principles governing the interactions between different energy fields and the wire-arc DED process are analyzed. Further, the effects of energy fields on the fabricated components are summarized, focusing on macroscopic morphology, microstructure, and mechanical properties. Finally, in the aspects of exploring the unclarified physical mechanism, and the establishing more advanced numerical modeling, field-assisted systems, and the online monitoring techniques, the current challenges and future perspectives are discussed, and elaborated, with the aim of advancing the industrial application of energy field-assisted wire-arc DED.