Wire-based directed energy deposition of a novel high-performance titanium fiber-reinforced Al5183 Aluminum Alloy

5xxx aluminum alloys find wide application in different industry fields due to their several advantages such as good weldability and corrosion resistance. However, their strength is inferior to their 2xxx and 7xxx counterparts, limiting their application to high load-bearing conditions. In order to improve the mechanical properties of additively manufactured Al5183 aluminum alloy, titanium fiber-reinforced Aluminum (TFRA) components were fabricated for the first time by wire-based directed energy deposition-arc manufacturing (DED-arc) using a dual-wire feeding system. The reinforcing titanium fiber was kept in solid state by carefully controlling its feed path and arc heat input. The thickness of the interface between the titanium alloy wire and the aluminum alloy matrix was about 3–10 µm, with a gradient transition in chemical composition and no obvious cracking tendencies. The results reveal that, as compared to the non-fiber-reinforced aluminum components, the yield and tensile strength of the TFRA components increased by 124 % and 33 % respectively, by adding 10.5 % volume fraction of titanium fibers. Meanwhile, its impact energy increased by 128 %, from the original value of 7.9–18.0 J. The increased strength was analytically analyzed by the mixed law theory and has been verified by finite element simulation. The increased impact property of the TFRA components is due to the fact that crack propagation in the aluminum matrix is blocked by the titanium fiber. Therefore, this work provides a promising way to fabricate high strength aluminum alloy with continuous fiber through DED-arc.