Surface asperities play a leading role in determining the fatigue life of as-built Ti-6Al-4 V components manufactured by electron beam powder bed fusion (PBF-EB). Several roughness parameters are available to characterize the surface asperities This study focuses on identifying the surface roughness parameter that correlates best with fatigue life. To this end, several fatigue test specimens were manufactured using the PBF-EB process and utilizing different contour melting strategies, thus producing as-built surfaces with varying roughness. The focus variation microscopy technique was employed to obtain surface roughness parameters for the as-built surfaces. Selected specimens were characterized using x-ray computed tomography (XCT). Tomography can detect surface-connected features obscured by other parts of the surface that are not visible through optical microscopy. The fatigue life of all specimens was determined using four-point bend testing. Through regression model analysis, maximum pit height (Sv) was identified as the statistically significant roughness parameter with the best fit affecting fatigue life. The fracture zone was closely inspected based on the data collected through XCT prior to fatigue tests. This led to another estimate of the worst-case value for the statistically significant roughness parameter Sv. The Sv parameter values obtained from optical microscopy and XCT were used as the initial crack size in a crack growth model to predict fatigue life. It is observed that life estimates based solely on optical measurements of Sv can be overly optimistic, a situation that must be avoided in predictive design calculations.

Laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) is one of the most widespread additive manufacturing (AM) methods, spanning multiple industrialsectors such as medical, automotive and more recently aerospace. Current limitations to its large-scale adoption include low build rates,machining often required and consolidation via hot isostatic pressing (HIP). Productivity enhancement of PBF-LB has been investigated extensively and among the strategies adopted, that of combining high-speed parameters with HIP to achieve full density, has proven to beviable. This study puts forward a new approach for Ti-6Al-4V material, investigating if employing a wide particle size distribution (PSD)of the powder, with a range between 15 to 90μm, with a high layer thickness achieves comparable levels of bulk density, whilst improvingthe sustainability of the overall process and decreasing build times. If packing density can be improved by ensuring a more varied spreadof particle sizes, the thermal conductivity of the powder bed increases. Combination of small and large diameter particles would result in a reduction of the number of interparticle cavities upon powder spreading, therefore enhancing the contact and the efficiency of melting between neighbouring particles, upon laser heating. An EOS M290 machine was used to establish a processing window for the extendedPSD and increased layer thickness. Laser power, scanning velocity and hatch distance were varied to identify and exclude parametervalues that render extremes such as lack of fusion or keyholing defects. Single, multiple tracks and cubes were produced as part of a studythat aims to characterise the material’s response in terms of microstructure, defect density and hardness. It was possible to establish correspondence between tracks and cubes behaviour and isolate a design region that yielded minimal porosity.

This paper explores the effects of varying process parameters (i.e., laser power, laser scanning speed, hatch distance) on the characteristics of single tracks, triple tracks and cubes, in order to provide answers to Research Question 1. A full factorial DoE approach was adopted to produce the experiments. Data was extracted from different sources to find correlations between tracks and multilayer geometries. A digital microscope was used to obtain height profiles, whilst polished/etched cross sections cut parallel to the build direction were imaged using a LOM to obtain measurements of track height, width, melt pool depth, subsurface porosity and residual defect content in cubes. Track height was found to exceed the recoated value of 70μm for both single and triple tracks. The width of single tracks showed a clear upward trend when displayed against VED, showing a lateral expansion as energy input increased. It was also revealed that single tracks expand laterally as they grow above the substrate, indicating swelling. The melt pool depth showed a steady upward trend when plotted against LED, though less systematic than track width. A martensitic microstructure was detected, with hierarchical α’ needles growing at prescribed crystallographic directions within vertical prior-β grains. A large portion of spatter particles and unmelted powder granules were detected on the substrate and tracks, with many accumulating on the side of the tracks forming a denudation zone.

Ti-6Al-4 V finds application in the fan and compressor modules of gas turbine engines due to its high specific strength. Ti-6Al-4 V components manufactured using one of the additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, the electron beam powder bed fusion (PBF-EB) process, has been an active area of research in the past decade. The fatigue life of such PBF-EB built Ti-6Al-4 V components is improved by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatment typically performed at about 920 ˚C. The HIP treatment at 920 ˚C results in coarsening of α laths and reduced static strength and therefore a low-temperature HIP treatment is performed at about 800 ˚C to limit the impact on static mechanical properties. In the present work, the low cycle fatigue and fatigue crack growth behavior of such a modified HIP (low-temperature HIP) treated material is assessed and compared with the respective data for the standard HIP-treated material. The modified HIP-treated material has fatigue performance comparable to the standard HIP-treated material. This work suggests that the modified HIP treatment improves the static mechanical properties without significantly impacting the fatigue performance. Also, fatigue life predictions were made from the measured defect size at the crack initiation site using a linear elastic fracture mechanics tool. The life predictions show good agreement with the experimental values for defects greater than the intrinsic crack length, where life is well predicted by large-crack growth methodology. 

The fatigue behavior of additively manufactured (AM) structural parts is sensitive to the surface and near-surface material conditions. Chemical post-processing surface treatments can be used to improve the surface condition of AM components, including complex geometries with surfaces difficult to access. In this work, surfaces of electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF) produced Ti–6Al–4V were subject to two different chemical post-processing surface treatments, chemical milling and Hirtisation. As-built and machined surfaces, as well as hot isostatic pressing (HIP), treated conditions were also investigated. Fatigue testing was carried out in four-point bending. The investigation focused on the relationship between fracture mechanisms and fatigue life through fractographic study. It was found that a majority of fractures were initiated at internal surface-near defects or defects on the surface. Chemical post-processing was found to smoothen the surface but to leave a surface waviness. Material removal during post-processing could open up internal defects to the treated surface. In HIP-treated specimens, fractures initiated at defects open to the surface. Despite post-processing increasing the mean life of fatigue specimens, no significant improvements in the lowest tested life were observed for any specimen condition.

Evaluation of the high-temperature tensile properties of Ti-6Al-4V manufactured by electron beam melting (EBM) and subjected to a low-temperature hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatment (800 °C) was performed in this study. The high-temperature tensile properties of as-built and standard HIP-treated (920 °C) materials were studied for comparison. Metallurgical characterization of the as-built, HIP-treated materials was carried out to understand the effect of temperature on the microstructure. As the HIP treatments were performed below the β-transus temperature (995 °C for Ti-6Al-4V), no significant difference was observed in β grain width between the as-built and HIP-treated samples. The standard HIP-treated material measured about 1.4×-1.7× wider α laths than those in the modified HIP (low-temperature HIP)-treated and as-built samples. The standard HIP-treated material showed about a 10-14% lower yield strength than other tested materials. At 350 °C, the yield strength decreased to about 65% compared to the room-temperature strength for all tested specimens. An increase in ductility was observed at 150 °C compared to that at room temperature, but the values decreased between 150 and 350 °C because of the activation of different slip systems.

The microstructure and mechanical properties of additively manufactured (AM) parts have been shown to be different from that of cast and wrought counterparts. In this study, electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF) fabricated Alloy 718 was exposed to three different heat treatment routes followed by strain-controlled fatigue testing at 550 degrees C. The fatigue tests were performed with specimens built with their center axis parallel and transverse relative to the build direction. The microstructure showed saturated precipitation of delta-Ni3Nb after repeated solution treatment at 954 degrees C. In contrast, no delta-Ni3Nb precipitates could be observed after a single-step solution treatment at 1025 degrees C. However, the disparity of secondary phases showed no noticeable influence on the fatigue life. A significant difference in fatigue behavior was noted between the parallel and transverse directions. The specimens loaded parallel to the elongated grains showed on average similar to 5x greater life in comparison to the perpendicularly loaded specimens. Compared to corresponding heat-treated material conditions tested at ambient temperature, the specimens showed lower life at high strain amplitude and superior life at low strain amplitude. Moreover, competitive internal and surface failure modes were observed at the lower strain amplitudes while for the higher strain ranges, surface failure modes dominated. (C) The Author(s) 2022

A unique melting strategy was implemented in electron beam-powder bed fusion (EB-PBF) of Alloy 718, resulting in the formation of a bimodal grain morphology consisting of fine equiaxed and columnar grains. The microstructure was preserved following various thermal post-treatments. The post-treated specimens were exposed to low cycle fatigue (LCF), and fatigue crack growth (FCG) tests in ambient air at 600 °C under pure and dwell-time (120 s) fatigue cycles. Clustered inclusions spanned a region of 100-600 µm in length acted as the crack initiation site, reducing the specimens' total fatigue life. When compared to pure fatigue cycles, dwell-time fatigue cycles reduced LCF life by approximately 35%, regardless of the thermal post-treatments. Due to a high fraction of grain boundary area in the as-built EB-PBF specimens, oxygen diffusion across the grain boundaries was enhanced. The intergranular fracture mode was favored in the plastic zone ahead of the crack tip, leading to rapid crack growth. No unbroken ligaments behind the crack front were found by high-resolution X-ray computed tomography, which was consistent with a large crack opening displacement linked to severe deformation around the crack tip. 

Alloy 21-6-9 is an austenitic stainless steel with high strength, thermal stability at high temperatures, and retained toughness at cryogenic temperatures. This type of steel has been used for aerospace applications for decades, using traditional manufacturing processes. However, limited research has been conducted on this alloy manufactured using laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF). Therefore, in this work, a design of experiment (DOE) was performed to obtain optimized process parameters with regard to low porosity. Once the optimized parameters were established, horizontal and vertical blanks were built to investigate the mechanical properties and potential anisotropic behavior. As this alloy is exposed to elevated temperatures in industrial applications, the effect of elevated temperatures (room temperature and 750 degrees C) on the tensile properties was investigated. In this work, it was shown that alloy 21-6-9 could be built successfully using LPBF, with good properties and a density of 99.7%, having an ultimate tensile strength of 825 MPa, with an elongation of 41%, and without any significant anisotropic behavior.

In this study, Alloy 718 specimens manufactured by Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion process are subjected to two different post-treatments to have different microstructural features. Low cycle fatigue testing has been performed both parallel and transverse to the build direction. EB-PBF Alloy 718 exhibits anisotropic fatigue behaviour; the fatigue life is better along the parallel direction compared to the transverse direction. The anisotropy in fatigue life is related to the anisotropy in the Young’s modulus. The pseudo-elastic stress vs. fatigue life approach is presented as a potential solution to handle anisotropy in fatigue life assessment of additively manufactured engineering components. © 2020 The Authors