Microstructure and properties of Ti-Fe-Y alloy fabricated by laser-aided direct metal deposition

Ti-Fe-Y alloys were designed using a “cluster-plus-glue-atom” model and then were prepared by laser-aided direct metal deposition (LDMD) on a pure titanium substrate. The influence of the Y addition on the microstructure and properties of the alloys were investigated. The results show that the alloys are composed of β-Ti solid solution and FeTi compound. The addition of Y not only suppresses the formation of Ti4Fe2O oxide but also increases the supercooling degree of the melt, leading to the grain refinement and the increase in the solid solution of the β-Ti. Meanwhile, the microstructure changes sequentially from eutectic to hypereutectic to hypoeutectic with the increasing of the Y addition. The strengest Ti-Fe-Y alloy has a dispersed eutectic structure and exhibits a good combination of mechanical, tribological, and forming properties, which is superior to that obtained for the binary Ti70.6Fe29.4 eutectic alloy. This makes the alloy a promising candidate as a LDMD material.