scholarly journals Influence of Effective Laser Energy on the Structure and Mechanical Properties of Laser Melting Deposited Ti6Al4V Alloy

Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daojian Fu ◽  
Xiaoqiang Li ◽  
Minai Zhang ◽  
Min Wang ◽  
Zhen Zhang ◽  
...  

The laser energy density (ED) is often utilized in many additive manufacturing (AM) processes studies to help researchers to further investigate the process-structure-property correlations of Ti6Al4V alloys. However, the reliability of the ED is still questionable. In this work, a specific empirical calculation equation of the effective laser energy (Ee), which is a dimensionless parameter in laser melting deposition (LMD) processing, was proposed based on the molten pool temperature. The linear regression results and the coefficient of determination prove the feasibility of the Ee equation, which indicates that Ee can more accurately reflect the energy-temperature correlations than the commonly used laser energy density (ED) equation. Additionally, Ti6Al4V components were fabricated by the LMD process with different Ee to investigate the influence of Ee on their structure and mechanical properties. Experimental results show that the detrimental columnar prior β meso-structure can be circumvented and the uniform α + β laths micro-structure can be obtained in LMD Ti6Al4V by a judicious combination of the process parameter (P = 2000 W, V = 12 mm/s, and F = 10.5 g/min) and Ee (7.98 × 105) with excellent tensile strength (1006 ± 25 MPa) and elongation (14.9 ± 0.6%). Overall, the present work provides an empirical calculation equation to obtain a clearer understanding of the influence of different process parameters and indicates the possibility to fabricate the Ti6Al4V alloy with excellent mechanical properties by parameter optimization in the LMD process.

Author(s):  
Dongdong Gu ◽  
Fei Chang ◽  
Donghua Dai

The selective laser melting (SLM), due to its unique additive manufacturing (AM) processing manner and laser-induced nonequilibrium rapid melting/solidification mechanism, has a promising potential in developing new metallic materials with tailored performance. In this work, SLM of the SiC/AlSi10Mg composites was performed to prepare the Al-based composites with the multiple reinforcing phases. The influence of the SLM processing parameters on the constitutional phases, microstructural features, and mechanical performance (e.g., densification, microhardness, and wear property) of the SLM-processed Al-based composites was studied. The reinforcing phases in the SLM-processed Al-based composites included the unmelted micron-sized SiC particles, the in situ formed micron-sized Al4SiC4 strips, and the in situ produced submicron Al4SiC4 particles. As the input laser energy density increased, the extent of the in situ reaction between the SiC particles and the Al matrix increased, resulting in the larger degree of the formation of Al4SiC4 reinforcement. The densification rate of the SLM-processed Al-based composite parts increased as the applied laser energy density increased. The sufficiently high density (∼96% theoretical density (TD)) was achieved for the laser linear energy density larger than 1000 J/m. Due to the generation of the multiple reinforcing phases, the elevated mechanical properties were obtained for the SLM-processed Al-based composites, showing a high microhardness of 214 HV0.1, a considerably low coefficient of friction (COF) of 0.39, and a reduced wear rate of 1.56 × 10−5 mm3 N−1 m−1. At an excessive laser energy input, the grain size of the in situ formed Al4SiC4 reinforcing phase, both the strip- and particle-structured Al4SiC4, increased markedly. The significant grain coarsening and the formation of the interfacial microscopic shrinkage porosity lowered the mechanical properties of the SLM-processed Al-based composites. These findings in the present work are applicable and/or transferrable to other laser-based powder processing processes, e.g., laser cladding, laser metal deposition, or laser engineered net shaping.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Han ◽  
Jingjing Yang ◽  
Hanchen Yu ◽  
Jie Yin ◽  
Ming Gao ◽  
...  

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the influence of laser energy density on microstructure and mechanical properties of the selective laser melted (SLMed) Ti6Al4V to complement the existing knowledge in additive manufacturing of Ti6Al4V for future application of selective laser melting (SLM) in fabricating Ti6Al4V parts. Design/methodology/approach Ti6Al4V alloy is fabricated by SLM by adopting various energy densities. Microstructures and mechanical properties of the Ti6Al4V deposited using different energy densities are characterized. Findings Both high relative densities and microhardness can be obtained in the optimized processing window. The decrease of martensite width and spacing can improve the microhardness on both XOY and XOZ sections when the applied EV (defined as the laser energy per unit volume) increases. The width of the columnar grain increases with EV, resulting in a stronger anisotropy in microhardness between XOY and XOZ sections. Residual tensile stresses exist in the SLMed Ti6Al4V and increase with an increasing EV. A tensile strength of 1,268 MPa, a yield strength of 1,030 MPa, and an elongation of 4% can be obtained by using the optimized range of EV. Originality/value The microstructure of SLMed Ti6Al4V is quantitatively analysed by measuring the size of columnar grains and the martensites. The anisotropy of microstructures and properties in SLMed Ti6Al4V is characterized and its dependence on laser energy density is established. The residual stress in SLMed Ti6Al4V is characterized and its dependence on laser energy density is established. An optimized processing window to deposit Ti6Al4V alloy by SLM is proposed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 1506-1515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei Wei ◽  
Zhengying Wei ◽  
Zhne Chen ◽  
Jun Du ◽  
Yuyang He ◽  
...  

Purpose This paper aims to study numerically the influence of the applied laser energy density and the porosity of the powder bed on the thermal behavior of the melt and the resultant instability of the liquid track. Design/methodology/approach A three-dimensional model was proposed to predict local powder melting process. The model accounts for heat transfer, melting, solidification and evaporation in granular system at particle scale. The proposed model has been proved to be a good approach for the simulation of the laser melting process. Findings The results shows that the applied laser energy density has a significantly influence on the shape of the molten pool and the local thermal properties. The relative low or high input laser energy density has the main negative impact on the stability of the scan track. Decreasing the porosity of the powder bed lowers the heat dissipation in the downward direction, resulting in a shallower melt pool, whereas pushing results in improvement in liquid track quality. Originality/value The randomly packed powder bed is calculated using discrete element method. The powder particle information including particle size distribution and packing density is taken into account in placement of individual particles. The effect of volumetric shrinkage and evaporation is considered in numerical model.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 640496 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. V. Salmoria ◽  
D. Hotza ◽  
P. Klauss ◽  
L. A. Kanis ◽  
C. R. M. Roesler

The techniques of Rapid Prototyping, also known as Additive Manufacturing, have prompted research into methods of manufacturing polymeric materials with controlled porosity. This paper presents the characterization of the structure and mechanical properties of porous polycaprolactone (PCL) fabricated by Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) using two different particle sizes and laser processing conditions. The results of this study indicated that it is possible to control the microstructure, that is, pore size and degree of porosity, of the polycaprolactone matrix using the SLS technique, by varying the particle size and laser energy density, obtaining materials suitable for different applications, scaffolds and drug delivery and fluid mechanical devices. The specimens manufactured with smaller particles and higher laser energy density showed a higher degree of sintering, flexural modulus, and fatigue resistance when compared with the other specimens.


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