Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Additive Manufacturing Titanium Alloys After Thermal Processing

Titanium alloys are widely used for aerospace and biomaterial applications since their high specific strength, and high corrosion resistivity. Besides these properties, titanium is an excellent biocompatible material widely used for internal body implants. Because the products have complex geometries in both applications, Additive Manufacturing (AM) methods have been recently applied for production. AM methods can process a direct 3-D shape of the final product, decrease total production time and cost. However, high residual stress of the final product limits the application of AM components, especially the ones that are exposed to cyclic loading. In the present study, the initial microstructures and impact toughness of Ti6Al4V processed by EBM and CMT, and CP:Ti processed by SLM were experimented. In addition to initial microstructure and impact toughness, their response to different heat treatments were examined. Gleeble® 3500 was used for rapid heat treatment process. The change of mechanical properties due to different heat treatments were monitored with impact tests. Phase transformation kinetics of CP:Ti and Ti6Al4V were investigated with a Differential Scanning Calorimeter at slow heating and cooling rates. Microstructure examination was done with a scanning electron microscope. EBSD data was used to analyze the microstructure behavior. It is observed that toughness of the samples that are produced by powder-based AM methods were improved. Overall, residual stress, strain values, and grain orientation are the key elements that affected impact toughness AM produced components