Effects of post heat treatments on microstructures and mechanical properties of selective laser melted Ti6AL4V alloy

The unique thermal history of selective laser melting (SLM) can lead to high residual stress and a non-equilibrium state in as-fabricated titanium alloy components and hinders their extensive use. Post heat treatment, as a classical and effective way, could transform non-equilibrium α’ martensite and achieves desirable mechanical performance in SLMed Ti alloys. In this study, we aimed to establish the correlation between the microstructure and mechanical performances of SLMed Ti6Al4V (Ti-64) by using different heat treatment processes. The columnar prior β grain morphology and grain boundary α phase (GB-α) after different heat treatment processes were characterized, with their influences on the tensile property anisotropy fully investigated. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation of the fracture surface and its cross-sectional analysis found that the tensile properties, especially the ductility, were affected by the GB-α along the β grain boundary. Furthermore, the discontinuous ratio of GB-α was firstly proposed to quantitatively predict the anisotropic ductility in SLMed Ti-64. This study provides a step forward for achieving the mechanical property manipulation of SLMed Ti-64 parts.