Holistic high-temperature assistance for laser directed energy deposition of Al2O3/ZrO2 eutectic ceramics: cracking behavior

doi:10.1007/s40436-025-00572-x

Advances in Manufacturing ›› 2026, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (2): 474-498.doi: 10.1007/s40436-025-00572-x

Holistic high-temperature assistance for laser directed energy deposition of Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ eutectic ceramics: cracking behavior

Dong-Jiang Wu¹, Cheng-Xin Li¹, Ming-Ze Xu¹, Xue-Xin Yu¹, Guang-Yi Ma¹, Huan-Yue Zhang², Cong Zhou³, Bi Zhang³, Fang-Yong Niu¹

1. State Key Laboratory of High-Performance Precision Manufacturing, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023, Liaoning, People's Republic of China;
2. Instrumental Analysis Center, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116023, Liaoning, People's Republic of China;
3. Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518071, Guangdong, People's Republic of China

收稿日期:2024-07-03 修回日期:2025-07-08 出版日期:2026-04-27 发布日期:2026-04-27
通讯作者: Fang-Yong Niu,E-mail:niufangyong@dlut.edu.cn E-mail:niufangyong@dlut.edu.cn
基金资助:
This work was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2023YFB4605900), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52375312), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. DUT23YG230), the Science and Technology Plan Joint Program of Liaoning Province (Grant No. 2023JH2/101700299), and the Science and Technology Innovation Commission of Shenzhen (Grant No. JCYJ20210324115413036).

Holistic high-temperature assistance for laser directed energy deposition of Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ eutectic ceramics: cracking behavior

Dong-Jiang Wu¹, Cheng-Xin Li¹, Ming-Ze Xu¹, Xue-Xin Yu¹, Guang-Yi Ma¹, Huan-Yue Zhang², Cong Zhou³, Bi Zhang³, Fang-Yong Niu¹

1. State Key Laboratory of High-Performance Precision Manufacturing, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023, Liaoning, People's Republic of China;
2. Instrumental Analysis Center, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116023, Liaoning, People's Republic of China;
3. Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518071, Guangdong, People's Republic of China

Received:2024-07-03 Revised:2025-07-08 Online:2026-04-27 Published:2026-04-27
Contact: Fang-Yong Niu,E-mail:niufangyong@dlut.edu.cn E-mail:niufangyong@dlut.edu.cn
Supported by:
This work was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2023YFB4605900), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52375312), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. DUT23YG230), the Science and Technology Plan Joint Program of Liaoning Province (Grant No. 2023JH2/101700299), and the Science and Technology Innovation Commission of Shenzhen (Grant No. JCYJ20210324115413036).

摘要/Abstract

摘要： Laser-directed energy deposition (LDED) has emerged as a primary technology for the direct additive manufacturing of melt-growth ceramics (MGCs). However, cracking during fabrication severely limits further development of this technology. This study investigated a new holistic high-temperature-assisted method for LDED to solve the cracking problem. This method mitigates the high temperature gradients caused by the low thermal conductivity of the material during fabrication, thereby suppressing crack formation. The LDED of Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ eutectic ceramics was performed at a holistic auxiliary temperature of up to 1 273 K, and the crack-suppressing effectiveness and mechanism were verified by combining numerical simulations and experiments. The results demonstrated that holistic high-temperature assistance significantly mitigated cracking in Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ eutectic ceramics fabricated via LDED. At an auxiliary temperature of 1 273 K, the stress level in the fabricated sample was reduced by an order of magnitude compared to that at room temperature. Consequently, the lengths and densities of the cracks in the fabricated samples decreased by 47.6% and 55.6%, respectively. This study confirmed that the holistic high-temperature-assisted LDED method could play an important role in the additive manufacturing of low-ductility materials.

The full text can be downloaded at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-025-00572-x

关键词: Additive manufacturing, Laser directed energy deposition (LDED), Ceramics, Cracks, High-temperature assisted

Abstract: Laser-directed energy deposition (LDED) has emerged as a primary technology for the direct additive manufacturing of melt-growth ceramics (MGCs). However, cracking during fabrication severely limits further development of this technology. This study investigated a new holistic high-temperature-assisted method for LDED to solve the cracking problem. This method mitigates the high temperature gradients caused by the low thermal conductivity of the material during fabrication, thereby suppressing crack formation. The LDED of Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ eutectic ceramics was performed at a holistic auxiliary temperature of up to 1 273 K, and the crack-suppressing effectiveness and mechanism were verified by combining numerical simulations and experiments. The results demonstrated that holistic high-temperature assistance significantly mitigated cracking in Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ eutectic ceramics fabricated via LDED. At an auxiliary temperature of 1 273 K, the stress level in the fabricated sample was reduced by an order of magnitude compared to that at room temperature. Consequently, the lengths and densities of the cracks in the fabricated samples decreased by 47.6% and 55.6%, respectively. This study confirmed that the holistic high-temperature-assisted LDED method could play an important role in the additive manufacturing of low-ductility materials.

The full text can be downloaded at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-025-00572-x

Key words: Additive manufacturing, Laser directed energy deposition (LDED), Ceramics, Cracks, High-temperature assisted

Dong-Jiang Wu, Cheng-Xin Li, Ming-Ze Xu, Xue-Xin Yu, Guang-Yi Ma, Huan-Yue Zhang, Cong Zhou, Bi Zhang, Fang-Yong Niu. Holistic high-temperature assistance for laser directed energy deposition of Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ eutectic ceramics: cracking behavior[J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2026, 14(2): 474-498.

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Holistic high-temperature assistance for laser directed energy deposition of Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ eutectic ceramics: cracking behavior

Holistic high-temperature assistance for laser directed energy deposition of Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ eutectic ceramics: cracking behavior

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