Cracking behavior and control of β-solidifying Ti-40Al-9V-0.5Y alloy produced by selective laser melting

A beta-solidifying Ti-40Al-9V-0.5Y (at.%) alloy with a high cracking sensitivity has been successfully fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) in this study. The influence factors for cracking sensitivity, cracking behavior and crack inhibition mechanism were investigated. The results show that the effects of process parameters on cracking sensitivity strongly depend on the cooling rate in molten pool with different heat transfer modes. The conduction mode with higher cooling rates exhibits a higher cracking sensitivity in comparison to the keyhole mode. Microstructure characteristics and phase transformations controlled by cooling rate determine the inherent ductility of beta-solidifying-gamma-TiAl alloys during SLM. On this basis, the formation and inhibition mechanism of solidification and cold cracking are proposed. Finally, the crackfree Ti-40Al-9V-0.5Y sample with fine equiaxed microstructures and favorable mechanical properties (microhardness of 542 +/- 19 HV, yield strength of 1871 +/- 12 MPa, ultimate strength of 2106 +/- 13 MPa and ultimate compressive strain of 10.89 +/- 0.57%) can be produced by SLM. The strengthening mechanism can be attributed to grain refinement and precipitation strengthening. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.