Understanding the characteristics of Electron Beam Melted Ti-6Al-4V parts

Ti-6Al-4V is one of the most widely used titanium alloy in aerospace applications. A new generation of manufacturing methods such as the Electron Beam Melting (EBM) technology, has enabled the direct fabrication of complex products to be manufactured with time and cost saving. Ti-6Al-4V has been reported to have inferior wear properties and hence many research focused on engineering its surface for better wear performance. However, there is limited research done on the wear properties of Ti-6Al-4V built by EBM. This project aimed to study the effect of different heat process parameters on EBM built Ti-6Al-4V part’s resultant microstructure and hardness value. The hardness value was found to be higher when the microstructure is finer. The wear properties of EBM built Ti-6Al-4V with different built orientations i.e. XY and YZ were also studied. It was found that the built parts showed no variations with different sliding speeds. However, YZ built parts showed better wear properties that of XY built parts. By comparing the specimens with different hardness, it was shown that materials with higher hardness have better wear properties.Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace Engineering