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

doi:10.1007/s40436-025-00572-x

Abstract

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.

TrendMD

References

[1] Waku Y (1998) A new ceramic eutectic composite with high strength at 1 873 K. Adv Mater 10:615-617. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1521-4095(199805)10:8%3c615::AID-ADMA615%3e3.0.CO;2-T
[2] Nakagawa N, Ohtsubo H, Mitani A et al (1998) High temperature strength and thermal stability for melt growth composite. J Eur Ceram Soc 25:1251-1257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2005.01.030
[3] Fan W, Peng Y, Qi Y et al (2023) Partially melted powder in laser based directed energy deposition: formation mechanism and its influence on microstructure. Int J Mach Tool Manu 192:104072. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2023.104072
[4] Llorca J, Orera VM (2006) Directionally solidified eutectic ceramic oxides. Prog Mater Sci 51:711-809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2005.10.002
[5] Balla VK, Bose S, Bandyopadhyay A (2008) Processing of bulk alumina ceramics using laser engineered net shaping. Int J Appl Ceram Tec 5:234-242. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7402.2008.02202.x
[6] Tan H, Chen J, Zhang FY et al (2010) Process analysis for laser solid forming of thin-wall structure. Int J Mach Tool Manu 50:1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2009.10.003
[7] Yu XX, Wu DJ, Feng X et al (2024) One-step additive manufacturing of melt-growth porous ceramics by laser directed energy deposition. J Eur Ceram Soc 44:116748. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2024.116748
[8] Wu DJ, Yu CS, Wang QY et al (2022) Synchronous-hammer-forging-assisted laser directed energy deposition additive manufacturing of high-performance 316L samples. J Mater Process Tech 307:117695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2022.117695
[9] Gu DD, Shi X, Poprawe R et al (2021) Material-structure-performance integrated laser-metal additive manufacturing. Science 372:6545. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abg1487
[10] Yan S, Wu DJ, Niu FY et al (2018) Effect of ultrasonic power on forming quality of nano-sized Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ eutectic ceramic via laser engineered net shaping (LENS). Ceram Int 44:1120-1126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2017.10.067
[11] Su HJ, Zhang J, Liu L et al (2011) Rapid growth and formation mechanism of ultrafine structural oxide eutectic ceramics by laser direct forming. Appl Phys Lett 99:221913. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3664108
[12] Fan ZQ, Zhao YT, Tan QY et al (2020) New insights into the growth mechanism of 3D-printed Al₂O₃-Y₃Al₅O₁₂ binary eutectic composites. Scripta Mater 178:274-280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2019.11.040
[13] Fan ZQ, Zhao YT, Tan QY et al (2019) Nanostructured Al₂O₃-YAG-ZrO₂ ternary eutectic components prepared by laser engineered net shaping. Acta Mater 170:24-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2019.03.020
[14] Hu YB, Ning FD, Cong W et al (2018) Ultrasonic vibration-assisted laser engineering net shaping of ZrO₂-Al₂O₃ bulk parts: effects on crack suppression, microstructure, and mechanical properties. Ceram Int 44:2752-2760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2017.11.013
[15] Ning FD, Hu YB, Liu ZC et al (2018) Ultrasonic vibration-assisted laser engineered net shaping of Inconel 718 parts: microstructural and mechanical characterization. J Manuf Sci E-T Asme 140:061012. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4039441
[16] Liu HF, Su HJ, Shen ZL et al (2021) Preparation of large-size Al₂O₃/GdAlO₃/ZrO₂ ternary eutectic ceramic rod by laser directed energy deposition and its microstructure homogenization mechanism. J Mater Sci Technol 85:218-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2021.01.025
[17] Zhang Z, Huang Y, Kasinathan AR et al (2019) 3-dimensional heat transfer modeling for laser powder-bed fusion additive manufacturing with volumetric heat sources based on varied thermal conductivity and absorptivity. Opt Laser Technol 109:297-312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2018.08.012
[18] Pappas JM, Thakur AR, Kinzel EC et al (2021) Direct 3D printing of transparent magnesium aluminate spinel ceramics. J Laser Appl 33:12018. https://doi.org/10.2351/7.0000327
[19] Niu FY, Wu DJ, Lu F et al (2018) Microstructure and macro properties of Al₂O₃ ceramics prepared by laser engineered net shaping. Ceram Int 44:14303-14310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2018.05.036
[20] Niu FY, Wu DJ, Lu F et al (2021) Investigation of melt-growth alumina/aluminum titanate composite ceramics prepared by directed energy deposition. Int J Extreme Manuf 3:35101. https://doi.org/10.1088/2631-7990/abf71a
[21] Yan S, Wu DJ, Huang YF et al (2019) C fiber toughening Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ eutectic via ultrasonic-assisted directed laser deposition. Mater Lett 235:228-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2018.10.047
[22] Ahsan MN, Bradley R, Pinkerton AJ (2011) Microcomputed tomography analysis of intralayer porosity generation in laser direct metal deposition and its causes. J Laser Appl 23:22009. https://doi.org/10.2351/1.3582311
[23] Orera VM, Peña JI, Oliete PB et al (2012) Growth of eutectic ceramic structures by directional solidification methods. J Cryst Growth 360:99-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2011.11.056
[24] Xia MJ, Gu DD, Ma C et al (2018) Microstructure evolution, mechanical response and underlying thermodynamic mechanism of multi-phase strengthening WC/Inconel 718 composites using selective laser melting. J Alloys Compd 747:684-695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2018.03.049
[25] Zhao DK, Bi GJ, Chen J et al (2024) Melt-grown behaviour of heat treated high-purity alumina ceramics prepared by laser directed energy deposition. Ceram Int 50:1777-1787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2023.10.277
[26] Yu XX, Wu DJ, Feng X et al (2024) Direct additive manufacturing of Al₂O₃-TiCp functionally graded ceramics by laser-directed energy deposition. J Am Ceram Soc 107(5):3522-3533. https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.19653

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

PDF

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

References

Related Articles 15

Recommended Articles

Metrics

Comments

[1]	Wen-Hao Xu, Chang-He Li, Pei-Ming Xu, Wei Wang, Yan-Bin Zhang, Min Yang, Xin Cui, Ben-Kai Li, Ming-Zheng Liu, Teng Gao, Yusuf Suleiman Dambatta, Ai-Guo Qin. Grinding mechanics of ceramics: from mechanism to modeling [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2026, 14(1): 4-42.
[2]	Mao-Yuan Zhang, Yong-Hong Liu, Long-Fei Li, Chi Ma, Run-Sheng Li, Xin-Lei Wu, Yi-Bao Chen, Li-Xin Wang, Ren-Peng Bian, Zhen-Ye Su, Fan-Bo Meng. Study on arc behavior and droplet transfer mechanisms under complex paths [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2026, 14(1): 172-188.
[3]	Kai-Xiong Hu, Kai Guo, Wei-Dong Li, Yang-Hui Wang. Temperature evolution prediction for laser directed energy deposition enabled by finite element modelling and bi-directional gated recurrent unit [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2025, 13(3): 668-687.
[4]	Javid Sharifi, Vlad Paserin, Haniyeh (Ramona) Fayazfar. Sustainable direct metallization of 3D-printed metal-infused polymer parts: a novel green approach to direct copper electroless plating [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2024, 12(4): 784-797.
[5]	John O'Hara, Feng-Zhou Fang. Design and fabrication of an aluminium oxide cutting insert with an internal cooling channel [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2024, 12(4): 619-641.
[6]	Bao-Ri Zhang, Yong-Hua Shi. A novel weld-pool-length monitoring method based on pixel analysis in plasma arc additive manufacturing [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2024, 12(2): 335-348.
[7]	Sen-Lin Wang, Li-Chao Zhang, Chao Cai, Ming-Kai Tang, Si Chen, Jiang Huang, Yu-Sheng Shi. Universal and efficient hybrid modeling and direct slicing method for additive manufacturing processes [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2024, 12(2): 300-316.
[8]	Jing-Hua Xu, Lin-Xuan Wang, Shu-You Zhang, Jian-Rong Tan. Predictive defect detection for prototype additive manufacturing based on multi-layer susceptibility discrimination [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2023, 11(3): 407-427.
[9]	Francesco Baffa, Giuseppe Venturini, Gianni Campatelli, Emanuele Galvanetto. Effect of stepover and torch tilting angle on a repair process using WAAM [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2022, 10(4): 541-555.
[10]	Prveen Bidare, Amaia Jiménez, Hany Hassanin, Khamis Essa. Porosity, cracks, and mechanical properties of additively manufactured tooling alloys: a review [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2022, 10(2): 175-204.
[11]	Omar Ahmed Mohamed, Syed Hasan Masood, Wei Xu. Nickel-titanium shape memory alloys made by selective laser melting:a review on process optimisation [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2022, 10(1): 24-58.
[12]	Athul Joseph, Vinyas Mahesh, Dineshkumar Harursampath. On the application of additive manufacturing methods for auxetic structures: a review [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2021, 9(3): 342-368.
[13]	Wei-Jun Zhu, Guo-Qiang Tian, Yang Lu, Kai Miao, Di-Chen Li. Leaching improvement of ceramic cores for hollow turbine blades based on additive manufacturing [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2019, 7(4): 353-363.
[14]	Saroj Kumar Padhi, S. S. Mahapatra, Rosalin Padhi, Harish Chandra Das. Performance analysis of a thick copper-electroplated FDM ABS plastic rapid tool EDM electrode [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2018, 6(4): 442-456.
[15]	Yu Dong, Jamie Milentis, Alokesh Pramanik. Additive manufacturing of mechanical testing samples based on virgin poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and PLA/wood fibre composites [J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2018, 6(1): 71-82.