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Effects of the scanning strategy on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a TiAl6V4 alloy produced by electron beam additive manufacturing

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Abstract

Ti6Al4V specimens were produced using electron beam melting (EBM) with the goal of studying the effects of the scanning strategies on the surface morphology, microstructure, and mechanical properties. As the factory condition consists in the use of different parameters for scanning the hatch and the contour, additional processing conditions were investigated using the hatch and contour strategies separately, oriented from the center to the border, and vice versa. Due to material anisotropy, the samples were fabricated in both the vertical and planar directions. This work demonstrates that the scanning strategies affect several features of EBMed TiAl4V samples, like the relative density of the specimens, the surface morphology, and the microstructure and mechanical properties. In details, pure contour can increase the relative density, due to the use of pulses instead of continuous electron beam emission, while the hatch scanning produces smoother and more uniform surface morphology. As different thermal histories can be associated with the variation of the scanning strategy, the microstructure can be varied in terms of grain growth. Finally, the tensile behavior of the specimens, evaluated in both the principal orientations, can be correlated to the relative density and surface irregularity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their gratitude to Mahr GbmH and CMF Marelli for their support with the surface metrology equipment.

Funding

The authors acknowledge Accordo Quadro CNR/Regione Lombardia n. 3866 in 17/07/2015 FHfFC program for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Lecco, National Research Council, Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry and Technologies for Energy, CNR ICMATE, Via Previati 1E, 23900, Lecco, Italy

    Carlo Alberto Biffi, Jacopo Fiocchi & Ausonio Tuissi

  2. Beam It, Str. Prinzera, 17, 43045, Fornovo di Taro, PR, Italy

    Emanuele Ferrario, Andrea Fornaci, Martina Riccio & Maurizio Romeo

Authors
  1. Carlo Alberto Biffi
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  2. Jacopo Fiocchi
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  3. Emanuele Ferrario
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  4. Andrea Fornaci
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  5. Martina Riccio
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  6. Maurizio Romeo
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  7. Ausonio Tuissi
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Correspondence to Carlo Alberto Biffi.

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Biffi, C.A., Fiocchi, J., Ferrario, E. et al. Effects of the scanning strategy on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a TiAl6V4 alloy produced by electron beam additive manufacturing. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 107, 4913–4924 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-020-05358-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-020-05358-y

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