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Aug 06, 2023Researchers develop bainitic titanium alloys for DED | VoxelMatters - The heart of additive manufacturing
Oct 26, 2024Today, the most widely used titanium alloy for additive manufacturing applications is Ti-6Al-4V, an alloy originally developed for wrought manufacturing. While the material has successfully been used with additive manufacturing processes, there is still room for improvement when it comes to mechanical properties. Specifically, 3D printed Ti-6Al-4V has been shown to have columnar prior-β grains, which can lead to anisotropic properties. To address this phenomenon, researchers from Australia’s RMIT University, the University of North Texas and the Tescan Group from Czechia have developed novel bainitic alloys, composed of titanium, copper and iron (Ti-Cu-Fe) for additive manufacturing.
Bainitic alloys, most common in steel, are characterized by a two-phase microstructure. The research team wanted to address titanium prior-β grains by changing the alloy chemistry, which can dramatically influence “constitutional supercooling during solidification”. The team was building on successes with Ti-Cu alloys for AM by exploring the microstructural manipulation in a Ti-Cu-Fe alloy developed for additive manufacturing. Iron was chosen for its ability (similar to that of copper’s) to refine prior-β Ti grains.
In the study, the researchers successfully 3D printed the titanium alloy using laser directed energy deposition. As they describe in the research, they compared the as-built mechanical properties of three Ti-Cu-Fe alloys (Ti-4Cu-4Fe, Ti-4Cu-6Fe and Ti-6Cu-4Fe) to binary Ti-Cu alloys and Ti-6Al-4V and found significant improvements in microstructure in the ternary alloys. Ultimately, the research project demonstrates the possibility of 3D printing strong titanium alloy structures using low-cost elemental powders and DED.
“This work has demonstrated the potential for bainitic Ti alloys with enhanced mechanical properties from its unique microstructure,” the study concludes. “There is greater potential for this alloy system for additional improvement of mechanical properties through grain boundary engineering and grain refinement through the introduction of further nucleation sites.”
The full research paper, published in the August 2024 edition of Materials & Design, can be read in full here.