On the role of Zr content into Portevin-Le Chatelier (PLC) effect of selective laser melted high strength Al-Cu-Mg-Mn alloy

Abstract Portevin-Le Chatelier (PLC) effect manifests itself as an unstable plastic flow during the tensile tests of aluminum alloys. With the increase of Zr content in high strength Al-Cu-Mg-Mn alloys, the stress-strain curves transform from smooth flow to serrated flow. The transition is attributed to the grain refinement as well as the interaction among Al 3 Zr precipitates, solute atoms and dislocations. What’s more, yield plateau (YP) phenomenon starts to appear when the Zr content reaches 1 wt.%. These findings provide a new perspective on tailoring mechanical behavior by alloy design for selective laser melting (SLM).