Microstructural evolution and mechanical property of Ti-6Al-4V wall deposited by continuous plasma arc additive manufacturing without post heat treatment

Abstract

Plasma arc additive manufacturing (PAM) is a novel additive manufacturing (AM) technology due to its big potential in improving efficiency, convenience and being cost-savings compared to other AM processes of high energy bea\m. In this research, several Ti-6Al-4V thin walls were deposited by optimized weld wire-feed continuous PAM process (CPAM), in which the heat input was gradually decreased layer by layer. The deposited thin wall consisted of various morphologies, which includes epitaxial growth of prior β grains, horizontal layer bands, martensite and basket weave microstructure, that depends on the heat input, multiple thermal cycles and gradual cooling rate in the deposition process. By gradually reducing heat input of each bead and using continuous current in the PAM process, the average yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation reach about 877MPa, 968MPa and 1.5%, respectively, which exceed the standard level of forging. The mechanical property was strengthened and toughened due to weakening the aspect ratio of prior β grains and separating nano-dispersoids among α lamellar. Furthermore, this research demonstrates that the CPAM process has a potential to manufacture or remanufacture in AM components of metallic biomaterials without post-processing heat treatment.

Keywords: Continuous plasma arc additive manufacturing; Mechanical properties; Microstructural evolution; Ti-6Al-4V alloy.