Characterization of 3D-Printed Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Behavior During Cold Deformation

In this paper, the characterization of the deformation behavior of additively manufactured 3D-printed Ti-6Al-4V alloys during elastic and plastic deformation was carried out on the test samples deformation zone during cold deformation at room temperature. The additive manufacturing process direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) was used to 3D print the Ti-6Al-4V test samples. The temperature, i.e., stress, changes, strain, and strain rate distribution in the deformation zone of the 3D-printed Ti-6Al-4V alloy during elastic and plastic deformation were compared using static tensile tests, thermography, and digital image correlation (DIC) simultaneously. Periodic oscillations of the maximum temperature changes during elastic and plastic deformation were observed in the deformation zone. The thermoelastic effect with the lowest temperature drop between -0.47 °C and -0.54 °C was observed in the deformation zone of the 3D-printed Ti-6Al-4V testing samples during elastic deformation. A significant difference between strain and strain rate localization in the deformation zone was found immediately before fracture of the test sample. Maximum strain amounts in the range of 0.078-0.080 and strain rates of 0.025-0.027 s^-1 were determined. Static tensile tests, thermography, and digital image correlation were proved to be valid methods for determining the localization of stress, strain, and strain rate in the deformation zone of 3D-printed Ti-6Al-4V test samples.