Fatigue behavior of Ti-6Al-4V cellular structures fabricated by additive manufacturing technique

Porous titanium and its alloys have been considered as promising replacement for dense implants, as they possess low elastic modulus comparable to that of compact human bones and are capable of providing space for in-growth of bony tissues to achieve a better fixation. Recently, the additive manufacturing (AM) method has been successfully applied to the fabrication of Ti-6Al-4V cellular meshes and foams. Comparing to traditional fabrication methods, the AM method offers advantages of accurate control of complex cell shapes and internal pore architectures, thus attracting extensive attention. Considering the long-term safety in the human body, the metallic cellular structures should possess high fatigue strength. In this paper, the recent progress on the fatigue properties of Ti-6Al-4V cellular structures fabricated by the AM technique is reviewed. The various design factors including cell shapes, surface properties, post treatments and graded porosity distribution affecting the fatigue properties of additive manufactured Ti-6Al-4V cellular structures were introduced and future development trends were also discussed.     

Temperature-gradient induced microstructure evolution in heat-affected zone of electron beam welded Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy

The heat-affected zone (HAZ) of electron beam welded (EBW) joint normally undergoes a unique heat-treating process consisting of rapid temperature rising and dropping stages, resulting in temperature-gradient in HAZ as a function of the distance to fusion zone (FZ). In the current work, microstructure, elements distribution and crystallographic orientation of three parts (near base material (BM) zone, mid-HAZ and near-FZ) in the HAZ of Ti-6Al-4V alloy were systematically investigated. The microstructure observation revealed that the microstructural variation from near-BM to near-FZ included the reduction of primary α (α_p) grains, the increase of transformed β structure (β_t) and the formation of various α structures. The rim-α, dendritic α and abnormal secondary α (α_s) colonies formed in the mid-HAZ, while the “ghost” structures grew in the near-FZ respectively. The electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) and electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) technologies were employed to evaluate the elements diffusion and texture evolution during the unique thermal process of welding. The formation of the various α structures in the HAZ were discussed based on the EPMA and EBSD results. Finally, the nanoindentation hardness of “ghost” structures was presented and compared with nearby β_t regions.     

A study on the hot corrosion behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy

The titanium alloys are potential materials for high temperature applications in turbine components due to their very high temperature strength and lightweight properties. However, hot corrosion is a life-limiting factor when Ti alloys are exposed to different chemical environments at high temperature. In the present paper, hot corrosion behavior of Ti-6Al-4V (Ti-31) alloy in different salt environments viz. air, Na₂SO₄-60% V₂O₅ and Na₂SO₄-50% NaCl at 750 °C was studied. The parabolic rate constants were calculated for different environments from the thermo-gravimetric data obtained for the samples and they show that corrosion rate is minimum in air when compared to chemical environment. The scale formed on the samples upon hot corrosion was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, and EDAX analysis to understand the degradation mechanisms.     

Selective electron beam manufactured Ti-6Al-4V lattice structures for orthopedic implant applications: Current status and outstanding challenges

Additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V lattices display unique mechanical and biological properties by virtue of their engineered structure. These attributes enable the innovative design of patient-specific medical implants that (i) are conformal to the intended surgical geometry, (ii) mimic the mechanical properties of natural bone, and (iii) provide superior biological interaction to traditional implants. Selective electron beam melting (SEBM) is an established metal additive manufacturing (AM) process that has enabled the design and fabrication of a variety of novel intricate lattices for implant applications over the last 15?years. This article reviews the technical and clinical characteristics of SEBM Ti-6Al-4V lattices, including (i) the SEBM process and its capabilities, (ii) the structures of human bones with an exhaustive list of corresponding mechanical properties from literature, (iii) the mechanical properties of SEBM Ti-6Al-4V lattices of various designs and their shortcomings when compared to human bones, (iv) microstructural control of SEBM Ti-6Al-4V lattices for improved performance, (v) the lattice manufacturability and associated geometric errors, and (vi) clinical cases. Existing literature on the mechanical response of SEBM Ti-6Al-4V lattice structures is exhaustively evaluated for documentation quality using established theoretical models. This extensive data-set allows novel insights into the effect of lattice design on mechanical response that is not possible with the individual data; and provides a comprehensive database for those who are actively involved in patient-specific SEBM implant design. On this basis, outstanding challenges and research opportunities for SEBM Ti-6Al-4V lattices in the biomedical domain are identified and discussed.     

Microstructure and properties of Ti-6Al-4V fabricated by low-power pulsed laser directed energy deposition

Thin-wall structures of Ti-6Al-4V were fabricated by low-power pulsed laser directed energy deposition. During deposition, consistent with prior reports, columnar grains were observed which grew from the bottom toward the top of melt pool tail. This resulted in a microstructure mainly composed of long and thin prior epitaxial β columnar grains (average width ≈200 μm). A periodic pattern in epitaxial growth of grains was observed, which was shown to depend upon laser traverse direction. Utilizing this, a novel means was proposed to determine accurately the fusion boundary of each deposited layer by inspection of the periodic wave patterns. As a result it was applied to investigate the influence of thermal cycling on microstructure evolution. Results showed that acicular martensite, α' phase, and a small amount of Widmanstätten, α laths, gradually converted to elongated acicular α and a large fraction of Widmanstätten α laths under layer-wise thermal cycling. Tensile tests showed that the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation of Ti-6Al-4V thin wall in the build direction were 9.1%, 17.3% and 42% higher respectively than those typically observed in forged solids of the same alloy. It also showed the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the transverse tensile samples both were ˜13.3% higher than those from the build direction due to the strengthening effect of a large number of vertical β grain boundaries, but the elongation was 69.7% lower than that of the build direction due to the uneven grain deformation of β grains.     

Ti3Al基合金与Ti-6Al-4V合金TLP连接接头的组织转变

采用TiZrNiCu合金作为中间层材料研究了Ti3Al基合金与Ti-6Al-4V合金的瞬间液相(TLP)扩散连接接头成分、组织转变及显微硬度.研究结果表明,连接温度和连接时间对接头成分和组织有较大的影响.随着连接温度的提高和连接时间的延长,接头中元素分布趋于均匀,连接区宽度增大.连接温度为850℃和900℃时,液相的残留使得接头中存在Ti-Cu金属间化合物.当连接温度为950℃,连接时间为30min时,等温凝固的完成使Ti-Cu金属间化合物从接头中消失.随着连接温度的提高和连接时间的延长,接头连接区硬度降低.当连接温度为950℃,连接时间为30min时,接头硬度分布较均匀.     

TI-6Al-4V合金置氢-除氢组织与力学性能

为研究除氢处理对置氢钛合金组织与性能的影响,对Ti-6Al-4V合金在不同参数条件下进行了置氢与除氢处理,采用光学显微镜分析了置氢-除氢处理过程中Ti-6Al-4V合金微观组织的演化规律,通过室温拉伸试验研究了置氢-除氢处理后Ti-6Al-4V合金的力学性能,探讨了Ti-6Al-4V合金置氢-除氢组织与力学性能之间的相...     

Effect of Si3N4 Addition on the Mechanical Properties, Microstructures, and Wear Resistance of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

In order to improve the wear resistance of Ti-6Al-4V, different amounts of Si3N4 powder were added into the alloy powder and sintered at 1250℃. Porous titanium alloy with higher wear resistance was successfully fabricated. At sintering temperature, reaction took place and a new hard phase of Ti5Si3 formed. The mechanical properties of the fabricated alloys with different amounts of Si3N4 addition were investigated. The hardness of Ti-6Al-4V, which is the index of wear resistance, was increased by the addition of Si3N4. Amounts of Si3N4 addition have very significant influences on hardness and compressive strength. In present study,titanium alloy with 5 wt pct Si3N4 addition has 62% microhardness and 45% overall bulk hardness increase,respectively. In contrast, it has a 16.4% strength reduction. Wear resistance was evaluated by the weight loss during wear test. A new phase of Ti5Si3 was detected by electron probe microanalyzer （EPMA） and X-ray diffraction （XRD） method. The original Si3N4 decomposed during sintering and transformed into titanium silicide. Porous structure was achieved due to the sintering reaction.     

Study on the flow properties of Ti-6Al-4V powders prepared by radio-frequency plasma spheroidization

Spherical Ti-6Al-4V powders were prepared using radio-frequency plasma spheroidization. A laser particle size analyser, a scanning electron microscope, an X-ray diffractometer and a Freeman FT4 powder rheometer were used to analyse the granulometric parameters, micro-morphologies, phase constitutions and flow properties of the raw and the spheroidized powders, respectively. The spheroidized powders exhibited an almost 100% degree of sphericity, smooth surfaces, favourable dispersion and narrow particle size distribution under appropriate plasma technological parameters. The average particle size of the spheroidized powders increased slightly as compared with that of the raw powders. In addition, the spheroidized powders exhibited higher conditioned bulk density and improved flow properties (including the dynamic flow properties, aeration, compressibility, permeability and shear properties) as compared with those of the raw powders.     

Effect of mean stress on fretting fatigue of Ti-6Al-4V on Ti-6Al-4V

Fretting fatigue tests of Ti‐6Al‐4V on Ti‐6Al‐4V have been conducted to determine the influence of stress amplitude and mean stress on life. The stress ratio was varied from R=−1 to 0.8. Both flat and cylindrical contacts were studied using a bridge‐type fretting fatigue test apparatus operating either in the partial slip or mixed fretting regimes. The fretting fatigue lives were correlated to a Walker equivalent stress relation. The influence of mean stress on fretting fatigue crack initiation, characterized by the value of the Walker exponent, is smaller compared with plain fatigue. The fretting fatigue knockdown factor based on the Walker equivalent stress is 4. Formation of fretting cracks is primarily associated with the tangential force amplitude at the contact interface. A simple fretting fatigue crack initiation metric that is based on the strength of the singular stress field at the edge of contact is evaluated. The metric has the advantage in that it is neither dependent on the coefficient of friction nor the location of the stick/slip boundary, both of which are often difficult to define with certainty a priori.     

Thermomechanical Behavior of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

Ti-6Al-4V, among the Ti alloys, is the most widely used. In the present work, the behavior of Ti-6Ak-4V alloy has beeninvestigated by the uniaxial hot isothermal compression tests and a series of dilatometric experiments were also carried out todetermine the transformation temperatures at different cooling rates. Specimens for hot compression tests were homogenizedat 1050℃ for 10 min and then quickly cooled to different straining temperatures from 1050 to 850℃. Cooling rates were chosenfast enough to prevent high temperature transformation during cooling. Compression tests were conducted at temperaturesfrom 1050 to 850℃ in steps of 50℃ at constant true strain rates of 10~(-3) or 10~(-2) s~(-1). The apparent activation energy forcompression in two-phase region was calculated 420 kJ·mol~(-1). Partial globularization of cr phase was observed in the specimendeformed at low strain rates and at temperatures near the transformation zone and annealed after deformation.     

Hydrogen Treatment of Cast Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

This paper presents the results of an investiga-tion of the effect of hydrogen treatment onmicrostructures and tensile and low cycle fatigueproperties of a Ti-6Al-4V cast alloy.The phasetransformation and the refining mechanism of thecast microstructure during the process of hydrogentreatment were studied.It was found that afterhydrogen treatment,the coarse Widmanstttenstructure of the as-cast Ti alloy was transformedinto a very fine and equiaxed α+β microstructurewithout any GBα phase.The tensile strength andductility and the low cycle fatigue life of thehydrogen treated specimens were significantly im-proved.     

Additive manufacturing of Ti-6Al-4V lattice structures with high structural integrity under large compressive deformation

Additively manufactured Ti-6 Al-4 V lattice structures have found important niche applications. However, they often show insufficient compressive ductility or insufficient structural integrity. In this study,a batch of 45 octahedral Ti-6 Al-4 V lattice structures was manufactured in three different strut diameters(0.5, 1.0, 1.5 mm) by selective electron beam melting(SEBM). The influence of post-SEBM annealing on the compressive deformation characteristics of the lattice structure was investigated. The as-built Ti-6 Al-4 V lattices fragmented when the compressive strain reached 13%–23% depending on strut diameter.Annealing at 950?C(β transus temperature: 995?C) only slightly improved the compressive ductility of the lattice structures. However, annealing at 1050?C(β-annealing) fundamentally changed the compressive deformation mode of the lattice structures. The resultant compressive stress-strain curve was featured by a long smooth plateau and no facture occurred even after significant densification of the lattice structure had taken place(50% of compressive strain).     

Laser Surface Modification of Ti-6Al-4V with Addition of Pr

The behaviour of oxidation at elevated tem-peratures and fretting in the laser-alloyed layer ofTi-6Al-4V with the addition of Pr was studied.The results show that the addition of Pr changes thestructure of oxide scale of Ti-6Al-4V,controls theshort-range diffusion of oxygen to thescale/substrate interface and increases the adhe-sion and ductility of the scale,thus changing theoxidation kinetics and considerably reducingoxidation rate.The analysis of fretting test showsthat the existence of high hardness layer in the al-loyed zone,fine dendrites perpendicular to the sur-face of the high hardness layer and the oxide scaleproduced during fretting at elevated temperaturesare all beneficial to the improvement of wear resist-ance.     

The effect of angle on dovetail fretting experiments in Ti-6Al-4V

The objective of this work was to compare the fretting fatigue performance of Ti‐6Al‐4V dovetail specimens on Ti‐6Al‐4V pads having various contact angles typical of engine hardware; 35°, 45° and 55° dovetail angles were considered. The dovetail fixtures were instrumented with strain gages so that the local normal and shear contact forces could be calculated. The contact force hysteresis loops were recorded showing the stick‐slip history. At R= 0.1, gross slip was observed for several thousand cycles followed by partial slip after the average coefficient of friction increased. At R= 0.5, gross slip was present only during the first half cycle. During partial slip, the slope of the shear versus normal force was a function of the dovetail angle. The local contact loads, therefore, differed for the same remotely applied force. Despite this, the fretting fatigue life depended primarily on the remotely applied load not dovetail angle.     

Saddle field fast atom beam source: A new low pressure plasma nitriding method for a alloy Ti-6Al-4V

Ti and its alloys (Ti-6Al-4V) have been used in different engineering applications due to their several outstanding properties. Nevertheless, their use in practical applications is limited in many cases due to their poor tribological property. Researches are ongoing on surface modification of Ti based materials by different plasma and ion based techniques to overcome this problem. However, the conventional plasma nitriding techniques have several problems such as formation of an arc, increased possibility of surface contamination due to a comparatively higher operating pressure, production of a very thin nitrided layer after a long processing time, etc. In this present work, the possibility of a new low-pressure plasma nitriding process using a Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) based saddle field fast atom beam source on a Ti-6Al-4V alloy sample is investigated. Plasma nitriding was carried out at 900 °C and at a pressure 0.1 Pa for 8 h by using a beam current 0.5 A. Optical Microscopy investigation of the cross-section of the nitrided sample revealed a compound nitrided layer (thickness approximately 16 μm) followed by a diffusion layer. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the presence of a TiN phase in the nitrided layers. A roughly three fold higher hardness value (1578 HV_0.015) in the top nitriding layer was observed by Vickers microhardness testing compared to hardness value of untreated sample (568 HV_0.015),with a gradually decreasing hardness in the core material. The results show that this is a promising method for low pressure plasma nitriding of Ti alloy within a short processing time compared to the conventional nitriding process.     

Thermophysical Properties of Solid and Liquid Ti-6Al-4V (TA6V) Alloy

Ti-6Al-4V (TA6V) titanium alloy is widely used in industrial applications such as aeronautic and aerospace due to its good mechanical properties at high temperatures. Experiments on two different resistive pulse heating devices (CEA Valduc and TU-Graz) have been carried out in order to study thermophysical properties (such as electrical resistivity, volume expansion, heat of fusion, heat capacity, normal spectral emissivity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity) of both solid and liquid Ti-6Al-4V. Fast time-resolved measurements of current, voltage, and surface radiation and shadowgraphs of the volume have been undertaken. At TU-Graz, a fast laser polarimeter has been used for determining the emissivity of liquid Ti-6Al-4V at 684.5 nm and a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) for measuring the heat capacity of solid Ti-6Al-4V. This study deals with the specific behavior of the different solid phase transitions (effect of heating rate) and the melting region, and emphasizes the liquid state (T > 2000 K).     

Failure analysis of a Ti-6Al-4V rotating main rotor component from an army helicopter

This paper discusses the failure analysis of a Ti-6Al-4V rotating main rotor component and contrasts the perspectives of the design/mechanical engineer and the manufacturing/materials engineer. Cracking initiated at mechanical marks located on the surface of the outer diameter of a planetary post at the transition radius and was propagated by high-cycle fatigue in service. These crack initiation defects were most likely produced by a machining or a surface finishing tool. Fractographic evidence suggests that high stresses were also encountered in service and played a significant role in the premature cracking of these components. The debate centers on whether the components would have failed in the absence of the surface defects. There were several manufacturers of this component, which are compared in this study. The workmanship on the outer diameter of the planetary post at the transition radius of a carrier that had not failed, manufactured by Company B, was superior to that of the two cracked carriers produced by Company A. However, analysis of the service conditions indicates that the components may have been loaded near the yield strength of the material.     

Preparation method of low-oxygen Ti-6Al-4V alloy by solid state re-deoxidation using calcium

The oxygen concentration in commercial Ti-6Al-4?V alloys was reduced to less than 400?ppm in this study by the method of solid state re-deoxidation, using calcium as a reductant. The concentration of oxygen in the deoxidised Ti-6Al-4?V alloy was 630?ppm at the optimum deoxidation temperature of 1000°C. When the degree of vacuum was increased and re-deoxidation was carried out, the oxygen concentration decreased to 355?ppm. Therefore, it is possible to prepare a Ti-6Al-4?V alloy with an oxygen concentration of less than 400?ppm by using the solid state re-deoxidation method at a high degree of vacuum of 1.5?×?10-6 Torr.     

Effect of Triple Annealing Treatment on Stress Relaxation of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

The effect of triple annealing on stress relaxation of Ti-6Al-4V alloy as well as the microstructure after stress relaxation werestudied. The results showed that triple annealing treatment enhanced the resistance of stress relaxation performance, andwhen the temperature was rising, this effect became notable. The stress relaxation deformation mechanism is of dislocationcreep at 400℃ and recovery creep at 600℃.