Microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V: Mill-annealed versus direct metal laser melted alloys

Additive manufacturing processes such as direct metal laser melting (DMLM) are known to produce highly anisotropic microstructures. The present work compares the microstructure and mechanical properties of DMLM Ti-6Al-4V with that of mill-annealed alloys. Results show that the yield and hardening response of DMLM Ti-6Al-4V does not depend on the testing direction relative to the build direction, while the response of mill-annealed Ti-6Al-4V strongly depends on the testing direction. These results are discussed in light of the microstructure, texture, and polycrystal plasticity modeling. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.