Residual Stress and Phase Stability of Titanium Alloys Fabricated by Laser and Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion Techniques

Abstract

Additively manufactured metal parts often have a high level of residual stress and can exhibit complex crystalline phase properties due to the rapid cooling nature of their fabrication process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a non-destructive technique that can characterize both the residual stress and the crystalline phase properties in detail. However, XRD is an ex-situ measurement and provides only the final state of the manufactured parts. In this article, a method that combines the XRD analyses and numerical simulation of the thermal history during the manufacturing process is reviewed with two examples of titanium alloys fabricated by laser and electron beam powder fusion techniques.