High power laser powder bed fusion of Ti6Al4V alloy: The control of defects, microstructure, and mechanical properties

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is the most widely used metal additive manufacturing technology, but it still faces challenges in manufacturing efficiency. To address the issue, high-power LPBF (HP-LPBF) which employs kilowatt-level lasers emerges in recent years. In this study, a 4 kW Flat-top laser...

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Main Authors: Jinfeng Deng, Qiao Zhong, Jia Chen, Kaiwen Wei, Xiaoze Yue, Yuguang Liu, Gaohang Li, Xiangyou Li, Xiaoyan Zeng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-11-01
Series:Journal of Materials Research and Technology
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785424024220
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author Jinfeng Deng
Qiao Zhong
Jia Chen
Kaiwen Wei
Xiaoze Yue
Yuguang Liu
Gaohang Li
Xiangyou Li
Xiaoyan Zeng
author_facet Jinfeng Deng
Qiao Zhong
Jia Chen
Kaiwen Wei
Xiaoze Yue
Yuguang Liu
Gaohang Li
Xiangyou Li
Xiaoyan Zeng
author_sort Jinfeng Deng
collection DOAJ
description Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is the most widely used metal additive manufacturing technology, but it still faces challenges in manufacturing efficiency. To address the issue, high-power LPBF (HP-LPBF) which employs kilowatt-level lasers emerges in recent years. In this study, a 4 kW Flat-top laser was used for the HP-LPBF of Ti6Al4V alloy. The samples in as-built state and annealed states (750 °C/2h, 850 °C/2h, 950 °C/2h, 1050 °C/2h) were investigated in terms of defects, microstructure, and mechanical properties. Results show that keyhole mode melting is avoided by adopting the Flat-top laser, so the relative density of as-built Ti6Al4V is generally positively correlated with the employed laser energy density. The minimum laser energy density to obtain the high-density (≥99.9%) sample is 50.0 J/mm3, and the highest build rate is 288 cm3/h. The microstructure in as-built state exhibits a unique alternating pattern of ''bright bands/dark bands''. The dark bands consist of needle-shaped α′ martensite, while the bright bands consist of needle-shaped α+β, which results from the decomposition of α′ under the in-situ annealing effect of the 4 kW Flat-top laser. After annealing at 750 °C, most of the residual α′ decomposes into needle-shaped α+β. As the annealing temperature increases from 750 °C to 1050 °C, the microstructure undergoes an evolution from needle-shaped α+β to lamellar α+β then to lamellar α+β with some globular α and finally to duplex α+β. An optimum strength-ductility balance is achieved after annealing at 850 °C, both the tensile strength and the elongation exceed the standard values of Ti6Al4V forgings.
format Article
id doaj-art-4975b2b4eab149f4b1560b7f342c66a5
institution Kabale University
issn 2238-7854
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Journal of Materials Research and Technology
spelling doaj-art-4975b2b4eab149f4b1560b7f342c66a52024-12-26T08:54:47ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542024-11-013348314843High power laser powder bed fusion of Ti6Al4V alloy: The control of defects, microstructure, and mechanical propertiesJinfeng Deng0Qiao Zhong1Jia Chen2Kaiwen Wei3Xiaoze Yue4Yuguang Liu5Gaohang Li6Xiangyou Li7Xiaoyan Zeng8Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hube, 430074, ChinaWuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hube, 430074, ChinaWuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hube, 430074, ChinaCorresponding author.; Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hube, 430074, ChinaWuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hube, 430074, ChinaWuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hube, 430074, ChinaWuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hube, 430074, ChinaWuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hube, 430074, ChinaWuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hube, 430074, ChinaLaser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is the most widely used metal additive manufacturing technology, but it still faces challenges in manufacturing efficiency. To address the issue, high-power LPBF (HP-LPBF) which employs kilowatt-level lasers emerges in recent years. In this study, a 4 kW Flat-top laser was used for the HP-LPBF of Ti6Al4V alloy. The samples in as-built state and annealed states (750 °C/2h, 850 °C/2h, 950 °C/2h, 1050 °C/2h) were investigated in terms of defects, microstructure, and mechanical properties. Results show that keyhole mode melting is avoided by adopting the Flat-top laser, so the relative density of as-built Ti6Al4V is generally positively correlated with the employed laser energy density. The minimum laser energy density to obtain the high-density (≥99.9%) sample is 50.0 J/mm3, and the highest build rate is 288 cm3/h. The microstructure in as-built state exhibits a unique alternating pattern of ''bright bands/dark bands''. The dark bands consist of needle-shaped α′ martensite, while the bright bands consist of needle-shaped α+β, which results from the decomposition of α′ under the in-situ annealing effect of the 4 kW Flat-top laser. After annealing at 750 °C, most of the residual α′ decomposes into needle-shaped α+β. As the annealing temperature increases from 750 °C to 1050 °C, the microstructure undergoes an evolution from needle-shaped α+β to lamellar α+β then to lamellar α+β with some globular α and finally to duplex α+β. An optimum strength-ductility balance is achieved after annealing at 850 °C, both the tensile strength and the elongation exceed the standard values of Ti6Al4V forgings.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785424024220High-power laser powder bed fusionTi6Al4V alloyDefectmicrostructureMechanical property
spellingShingle Jinfeng Deng
Qiao Zhong
Jia Chen
Kaiwen Wei
Xiaoze Yue
Yuguang Liu
Gaohang Li
Xiangyou Li
Xiaoyan Zeng
High power laser powder bed fusion of Ti6Al4V alloy: The control of defects, microstructure, and mechanical properties
Journal of Materials Research and Technology
High-power laser powder bed fusion
Ti6Al4V alloy
Defect
microstructure
Mechanical property
title High power laser powder bed fusion of Ti6Al4V alloy: The control of defects, microstructure, and mechanical properties
title_full High power laser powder bed fusion of Ti6Al4V alloy: The control of defects, microstructure, and mechanical properties
title_fullStr High power laser powder bed fusion of Ti6Al4V alloy: The control of defects, microstructure, and mechanical properties
title_full_unstemmed High power laser powder bed fusion of Ti6Al4V alloy: The control of defects, microstructure, and mechanical properties
title_short High power laser powder bed fusion of Ti6Al4V alloy: The control of defects, microstructure, and mechanical properties
title_sort high power laser powder bed fusion of ti6al4v alloy the control of defects microstructure and mechanical properties
topic High-power laser powder bed fusion
Ti6Al4V alloy
Defect
microstructure
Mechanical property
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785424024220
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