Wenhui Yu

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of high-strength aluminum alloy 7075 (AA7075) is severely limited by hot cracking. However, the underlying mechanisms, particularly the coupling between thermal fields, solidification microstructure, and cracking behavior, remain insufficiently clarified. This study elucidates these mechanisms by integrating experimental characterization with thermal simulation to investigate the temperature field, microstructure, and cracking relationships in both AA7075 and a crack-resistant 7075-Er-Zr alloy. Results show that coarse hot crack morphology is highly dependent on linear energy density E_L. In AA7075, E_L < 450 J/m promotes laterally inclined cracks (short, narrow cracks extending from the melt pool boundary toward the track center), whereas E_L higher than that value leads to the continuous centerline cracks (long, wide cracks along the track center). Fine microcracks are also observed at melt pool boundaries. The 7075-Er-Zr alloy demonstrates superior crack resistance. At E_L = 600 J/m, longitudinal centerline cracks still penetrate along the track, but the alloy achieves crack-free tracks at 200 W with scanning speeds above 1000 mm/s, otherwise exhibiting only short discontinuous cracks. Microcracks at melt pool boundaries are markedly suppressed in the modified alloy. The enhanced crack resistance is attributed to Er/Zr-induced grain refinement and a transition to an equiaxed grain structure, which disrupts intergranular gaps. Critically, thermal simulations identify an annular region with a peak temperature gradient. In AA7075, this region develops aligned columnar grains that facilitate both microcracks and centerline cracks. In the 7075-Er-Zr alloy, microcracks are fully eliminated within this region. However, a residual crystallographic texture persists in the annular region, which promotes the continued occurrence of centerline cracks under high energy density (e.g., E_L = 600 J/m). The annular region remains a critical weak link, and its microstructural control determines the prevailing crack type. This work provides a fundamental understanding of the thermal-microstructural origins of cracking and offers a theoretical foundation for developing crack-resistant aluminum alloys via LPBF.

Mg alloys show great potential in biomedical fields due to superior biocompatibility and biodegradability. Additive manufacturing (AM) provides opportunities in fabricating metallic implants with complex geometries while inherent defects during AM limit its further applications. In this work, laser shock peening (LSP) was employed as a post-processing technique to tailor the surface integrity and corrosion resistance of additively manufactured AZ91 Mg alloy by selective laser melting (SLM). The surface morphology, microstructure and porosity, surface hardness and residual stress, and corrosion resistance of the SLMed alloy before and after LSP were examined. The results show that a gradient structure is formed along the depth direction after LSP and high-density dislocations and high-fraction low-angle grain boundaries are induced. The porosity is gradually reduced in number and size and the highest density of 1.794 g/cm³ is obtained after two impacts of LSP. The surface hardness and residual compressive stress both increase with LSP number and the highest values of 135.26 HV and 40.13 MPa after four impacts, respectively. All of the SLMed alloy samples show improved corrosion resistance after LSP. This work provides a promising route for enhancing the performance of additively manufactured Mg alloys through laser materials surface modification.

Metal-matrix nanocomposites (MMNCs) with high performance have broad application prospects. Selective laser melting (SLM) was employed to fabricate Al₂O₃-reinforced Inconel 718 nanocomposites. The influence of laser energy density (E) on the microstructure and properties of the materials was thereafter investigated. The results show that the microstructure and mechanical properties of the composite can be significantly improved by optimizing E. When E increased from 219 J/mm³ to 288 J/mm³, the size of the Al₂O₃ reinforcement reduced, and the average grain diameter of the matrix was found to decrease from 1.09 μm to 0.22 μm. Additionally, the relative density improved from 89.82% to 97.04%. When the laser energy density is 288 J/mm³, the sample exhibits favorable hardness and wear resistance. The average microhardness of samples with 288 J/mm³ reaches 379.32 HV_0.5 Compared with 219 J/mm³ sample, the increase is 15.01%. The average friction coefficient and wear rate decreased to 0.24 and 3.75 × 10⁻⁴ mm³/N·m, respectively. Notably, compared with the samples with E of 219 J/mm³, these values reduced significantly by 60.65% and 60.15%, respectively. The study results can provide technical support for the production of MMNCs with high performance by SLM in industry.

Two-photon polymerization (TPP) is a sub-classification of vat photopolymerization. It has been widely used to fabricate micro/nano hierarchical structures that have the potential to be used to tune the fluid flow in chips. The present work first studied the influence of laser power on the feature size of TPP-fabricated 2D structures. It was found that the increase of laser power from 1.0 μW to 1.4 μW leads to the feature size increasing from 203 nm to 307 nm. Then, the effect of scanning parameters on the accuracy and surface quality of 3D structures was investigated. The arrangement of the voxels at different scanning strategies explains the mechanisms of the variation of accuracy and surface roughness. Finally, the pinecone structures with micro/nano hierarchical features were built and evaluated for their water repellence. The increase in the number of rows of pinecone structures significantly enhances the water-repellent performance.

NdFeB materials are widely used in the manufacturing of micro-linear motor sliders due to their excellent permanent magnetic properties. However, there are many challenges in processing the slider with micro-structures on the surface, such as complicated steps and low efficiency. Laser processing is expected to solve these problems, but few studies have been reported. Therefore, simulation and experiment studies in this area are of great significance. In this study, a two-dimensional simulation model of laser-processed NdFeB material was established. Based on the overall effects of surface tension, recoil pressure, and gravity, the temperature field distribution and morphological characteristics with laser processing were analyzed. The flow evolution in the melt pool was discussed, and the mechanism of microstructure formation was revealed. In addition, the effect of laser scanning speed and average power on machining morphology was investigated. The results show that at an average power of 8 W and a scanning speed of 100 mm/s, the simulated ablation depth is 43 μm, which is consistent with the experimental results. During the machining process, the molten material accumulated on the inner wall and the outlet of the crater after sputtering and refluxing, forming a V-shaped pit. The ablation depth decreases with the increment of the scanning speed, while the depth and length of the melt pool, along with the height of the recast layer, increase with the average power.

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a promising additive manufacturing technique that allows layer-by-layer fabrication of metallic powders. Distinguished thermal dynamics result in the microstructure of intrinsic features. This review aims to provide a thorough insight into the solidification fundamentals and the microstructural tailoring during LPBF. It begins with the introduction of the LPBF and the challenges of its applications with aluminium alloys. The thermal dynamics and its influence on the microstructure in LPBF were thereafter discussed. The attempts to tailor microstructures by refinement in LPBF fabrication of various aluminium alloys were summarised. Finally, the review provides a conclusive remark on the microstructural controlling and an outlook on the remaining challenges and potential research topics in LPBF with Al alloys.

Metalenses have been shown to overcome the diffraction limit of conventional optical lenses to achieve subwavelength resolution. Due to being lightweight and their planar structure, metalenses have potential applications in the manufacture of flat lenses for cameras and other high-resolution imaging optics. However, currently reported metalenses have low focusing efficiencies: 26%–68% in the THz and GHz range, 1%–91% in the near infrared range, and 5%–91.6% in the visible range. Far-field imaging in visible light is essential for use in cameras and mobile phones, which require a complex metalens structure with multi-layers of alternating metal and dielectric layers. Most of the reported metalenses work in a single wavelength, mainly due to the high dispersion characteristics of the diffractive metalenses. It remains a challenge to realize high-resolution imaging for a wide wavelength band in the visible range in particular. In this review, we report on state-of-the-art metalens design principles, types of nanoscale structures, and various fabrication processes. We introduce femtosecond laser direct writing based on two-photon polymerization as an emerging nanofabrication technology. Finally, we provide an overview of the optical performance of the recently reported metalenses and elaborate on the major research and engineering challenges and future prospects.