Effects of In-Process Ultrasonic Vibration on Weld Formation and Grain Size of Wire and Arc Additive Manufactured Parts

Wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is a competitive technique, which enables the fabrication of medium and large metallic components. However, due to the presence of coarse columnar grains in the additively manufactured parts, the resultant mechanical properties will be reduced, which limits the application of WAAM processes in the engineering fields. Grain refinement and improved mechanical properties can be achieved by introducing ultrasonic vibration. Herein, we applied ultrasonic vibration to the WAAM process and investigated the effects of wire feed speed, welding speed, and ultrasonic amplitude on the weld formation and grain size during ultrasonic vibration. Finally, a regression model between the average grain size and wire feed speed, welding speed, and ultrasonic amplitude was established. The results showed that due to the difference in heat input and cladding amount, wire feed speed, welding speed, and ultrasonic amplitude have a significant influence on the weld width and reinforcement. Excessive ultrasonic amplitude could cause the weld to crack during spreading. The average grain size increased with increasing wire feed speed and decreasing welding speed. With increasing ultrasonic amplitude, the average grain size exhibited a trend of decreasing first and then increasing. This would be helpful to manufacture parts of the required grain size in ultrasonic vibration-assisted WAAM fields.