In-situ investigation of the anisotropic mechanical properties of laser direct metal deposition Ti6Al4V alloy

Abstract

This study compares the microstructure and tensile properties of Ti6Al4V components fabricated by laser direct metal deposition (LDMD) additive manufacturing (AM) in the transverse and longitudinal directions. The results show anisotropic tensile properties with the transverse direction having high tensile and fracture strengths and the longitudinal direction having a high elongation and reduction of cross section. The anisotropic mechanical properties are attributed to the anisotropic microstructural distribution. The transverse tensile specimen is composed of short columnar prior-β grains which grow perpendicular to the tensile direction, and have a lamellar structure. Along the β grain boundary, αGB and large α colonies were identified. However, the longitudinal specimen shows that the long β structure is parallel to the tensile axis and that the microstructure is composed of basket-woven α phases with shorter α plates and smaller colony sizes compared with those in the transverse specimen. The fracture mechanism induced by the anisotropic microstructure along the transverse and longitudinal directions was compared by examining the fracture process in real-time using uniaxial in-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tensile testing. The results show that shear fracture, which is caused by the vertical β grain boundaries and large α colonies with long α plates, occurs in the transverse specimen. The shear mode is the main reason behind the enhanced tensile strength and fracture strength due to the high resistance to microcrack propagation. However, in the longitudinal specimens, symmetric necking behavior due to the fine α grains resulted in uniform deformation of the grains on both sides of the grain boundaries, inducing greater elongation.