High Wear Resistance and Mechanical Performance of NiAl Bronze Developed by Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion

This work reports the additively manufactured NiAl bronze alloys via electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF) that exhibit improved wear resistance without an increase of friction, exceeding those of conventional hot-rolled counterparts. High wear resistance is attributed to the formation of a Cu–O-rich transfer layer, and to exceptional mechanical strength induced by integrated effects including uniformly distributed precipitation, grain refinement, martensitic transformation around stacking faults, and a modulus mismatch between precipitates and the matrix. The simulation results indicate that the effect of the precipitate distribution on the internal stress field of the matrix is dependent on the external force direction. For the shear force, the uniformly distributed precipitates promote the overall stress concentration of the matrix, leading to its high work-hardening capability that plays a role in improving the wear resistance. This study reveals the potential of the EB-PBF technique to develop alloys with high wear resistance.