Improved seawater corrosion resistance of electron beam melting Ti6Al4V titanium alloy by plasma nitriding

Electron beam melting (EBM) is an additive manufacturing technology that allows flexible processing of parts with complex shapes, but the product surface is usually rough and porous, which affects its corrosion resistance. In this study, the plasma nitriding has been conducted on electron beam melted Ti6Al4V titanium alloy. The samples were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). The results showed that the plasma nitriding-treated EBM sample (PN-EBM) exhibited better corrosion resistance in natural seawater than the EBM sample due to the generation of a similar to 16 mu m compound layer, which can effectively prevent the intrusion of harmful ions and enhance the corrosion resistance of the EBM titanium alloy.

Automated summary

In this study, plasma nitriding has been applied to electron beam melted Ti6Al4V titanium alloy, and the results showed that the plasma nitriding-treated sample exhibited better corrosion resistance in natural seawater than the untreated sample. This was attributed to the formation of a 16 μm compound layer, which effectively prevented the intrusion of harmful ions and enhanced the corrosion resistance of the electron beam melted titanium alloy.