Investigation on Fabrication and Microstructure of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Hollow Spheres by Powder Metallurgy

In this study, the Ti-6Al-4V alloy hollow spheres were prepared by powder metallurgy method under different sintering temperatures (1200 degrees C, 1250 degrees C, 1300 degrees C, 1350 degrees C and 1400 degrees C). And the density, shrinkage and microstructure of hollow spheres were tested by Archimedes drainage method, diameter measurement, optical microscope and scanning electron microscope, respectively. The results show that the density and shrinkage of hollow spheres increase gradually with the sintering temperature increasing, while the porosity of the shell of hollow spheres decreased along with the increase of sintering temperature. When the sintering temperature is 1400 degrees C, the hollow sphere has the largest density of 2.10 g/cm(3), the largest shrinkage of 22.0% and the smallest porosity of 14.2%. By comparing the micro-morphology and properties under different temperatures, when the sintering process lasted for 180 min at 1400 degrees C, the Ti-6Al-4V hollow spheres have the smallest porosity and the largest density. Graphic

Automated summary

The Ti-6Al-4V alloy hollow spheres were prepared under different sintering temperatures, showing that density and shrinkage increase while porosity of the shell decreases with higher temperature. The Ti-6Al-4V hollow spheres sintered at 1400 degrees C for 180 minutes exhibited the smallest porosity and largest density.