The Effect of Temperature on the Microstructures of Additively Manufactured Ti6Al4V(ELI).

The stability of microstructure at high temperatures is necessary for many applications. This paper presents investigations on the effect of changes in temperature on the microstructures of additively manufactured Ti6Al4V(ELI) alloy, as a prelude to high temperature fatigue testing of the material. In the present study, a Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) EOSINT M290 was used to additively manufacture test samples. Produced samples were stress relieved and half of these were then annealed at high temperatures. The samples were then heated from room temperature to various temperatures, held there for three hours and thereafter, cooled slowly in the air to room temperature. During tensile testing, the specimens was heated up to the intended test temperature and held there for 30 minutes, and then tensile loads applied to the specimens till fracture. Metallographic samples were then prepared for examination of their microstructures both at the fracture surfaces and away from them. The obtained results showed that changes in temperature do have effects on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti6Al4V(ELI) alloy. It is concluded in the paper that changes in temperature will affect the fatigue properties of the alloy.