HYbrid Titanium Alloys produced by laser powder bed Fusion using Ti-5553 and Ti–42Nb powder recycling

Abstract

Over the years, persistent investigations have been conducted in search of unique properties in the field of materials. In titanium alloys, this relentless pursuit is no exception, especially when aiming to combine often antagonistic characteristics such as ductility and high mechanical strength. Intending to achieve properties rarely obtainable through other processing methods, a new class of titanium alloys called HYbrid Titanium Alloys (HYTA) emerges. The primary objective of this study is to create a HYTA that harmonizes the ductility observed in Ti–42Nb with the characteristic mechanical strength of Ti-5553. To achieve this feat, the technique of Additive Manufacturing by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (AM by LPBF) was chosen to produce an alloy with 20 in wt. of Ti-5553. Additionally, considering the costs associated with powders for LBPF, the effect of incorporating recycled powders in the process was investigated. In this context, the effects of processing these powders were evaluated, analyzing the influence of morphology and oxygen content on the resulting samples. In this way, in addition to contributing to an in-depth understanding of Hybrid Titanium Alloys, it was possible to seek the optimization of costs associated with the AM technique. As a result, an alloy with unique properties was obtained with an ultimate tensile strength of 725 MPa and 24 % elongation in the as-built condition.