Spall damage in laser-powder-bed-fusion manufactured Ti-6Al-4V: Mechanisms and microstructure effects

Spall damage of Ti-6Al-4V alloy fabricated via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is investigated via plate impact along the build direction (BD) and the transverse direction (TD), as regards its underlying me-chanisms and microstructure effects. Conventional hot-rolled Ti-6Al-4V alloys processed with annealing and quenching are also examined for comparison. Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL) and spall strength of the LPBF-fabricated samples are derived from free-surface velocity histories, and are higher for the TD loading than for the BD loading. The LPBF-fabricated alloy has a lower HEL but similar spall strength compared to the conventionally fabricated alloys. Quantitative analysis of recovered samples reveals that, the number of cracks is smaller and the mean crack length is larger in the LPBF-fabricated and quenched hot-rolled samples containing  martensite laths than the annealed hot-rolled sample containing equiaxed alpha grains. For the LPBF-fabricated samples, the TD loading induces cracks of similar length along  grain boundaries (GBs) and  {0001} planes, but much longer cracks along prior beta GBs compared to the BD loading. Anisotropy in mechanical properties and damage is due to columnar prior beta grains, morphological and crystallographic texture of  laths.(c) 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The spall damage of Ti-6Al-4V alloy fabricated via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) was investigated through plate impact in the build direction (BD) and the transverse direction (TD), focusing on its mechanisms and microstructure effects. Comparative analysis was performed on conventionally hot-rolled Ti-6Al-4V alloys processed with annealing and quenching. Results showed that the spall strength and Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL) of LPBF-fabricated samples were higher in the TD loading than in the BD loading. The LPBF-fabricated alloy exhibited a lower HEL but similar spall strength compared to conventionally fabricated alloys. The anisotropy in mechanical properties and damage was attributed to columnar prior beta grains, morphological, and crystallographic texture of martensite laths.