Pure tantalum manufactured by laser powder bed fusion: Influence of scanning speed on the evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties

Abstract

To improve the performance of pure tantalum manufactured by selective laser melting (SLM) and meet its application requirements in medicine and industry, this paper studied the influence of SLM process parameters on the as-built surface morphology and mechanical performance, and successfully obtained a sample with a relative density of over 99%, ultimate tensile strength of 706Mpa and fracture elongation over 32%. It's found that the scanning speed has a significant influence on the microstructure. Moreover, the fractured morphology shows that it is easy to cause cracks at the lower energy density. However, at a higher energy density, it is easy to induce defects such as keyhole induced pores. The appropriate process parameters of additive manufacturing matching the pure tantalum with higher relative density and better mechanical properties have precious value for its application in medicine and industry.