Insights into the wear behaviour of electron beam melted Ti–6Al–4V alloy in the as-built and the heat-treated conditions

Abstract

This paper assesses the dry sliding wear behaviour of Ti–6Al–4V alloy components produced by electron beam melting (EBM). The effect of different post-processing heat treatments on the wear behaviour of EBM parts was studied by comparing the heat-treated samples with the as-built sample. The results obtained from wear tests showed that the samples subjected to water-quenching after heat treatment had the lowest wear loss. The furnace-cooled samples after heat treatment exhibited the maximum wear loss; this was due to the presence of coarser α-phase in prior β grains in furnace cooled specimens when compared to the as-built sample; producing the lowest microhardness amongst all the heat-treated samples. Most of the samples showed material loss due to abrasive mechanism, whilst the sample that was furnace-cooled after heat treatment above the β transus temperature showed material loss due to adhesive wear and delamination.