Effect of Annealing Treatments on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Behavior of Direct Metal Laser Sintered Ti-6Al-4V

• Published in: Journal of materials engineering and performance Vol. 26; no. 6; pp. 2572 - 2582
• Main Authors: Xu, Yangzi, Lu, Yuan, Sundberg, Kristin L., Liang, Jianyu, Sisson, Richard D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.06.2017
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Corrosion and Coatings; Engineering Design; Materials Science; Quality Control; Reliability; Safety and Risk; Tribology; corrosion behavior; microstructure; tensile test; direct metal laser sintering; Ti-6Al-4V
• ISSN: 1059-9495; 1544-1024
• DOI: 10.1007/s11665-017-2710-y

An experimental investigation on the effects of post-annealing treatments on the microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of direct metal laser sintered Ti-6Al-4V alloys has been conducted. The microstructure and phase evolution as affected by annealing treatment temperature were examined through scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. The tensile properties and Vickers hardness were measured and compared to the commercial Grade 5 Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Corrosion behavior of the parts was analyzed electrochemically in simulated body fluid at 37 °C. It was found out that the as-printed parts mainly composed of non-equilibrium α′ phase. Annealing treatment allowed the transformation from α′ to α phase and the development of β phase. The tensile test results indicated that post-annealing treatment could improve the ductility and decrease the strength. The as-printed Ti-6Al-4V part exhibits inferior corrosion resistance compared to the commercial alloy, and post-annealing treatment can reduce its susceptibility to corrosion by reducing the two-phase interface area.