Facile manipulation of mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V through composition tailoring in laser powder bed fusion

Ti-6Al-4 V alloy when processed by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a useful material which can be used for the manufacture of complex 3D components for aerospace and medical applications. LPBF fabricated Ti-6Al-4 V typically shows high tensile strength (>1200 MPa) but poor ductility (<10%), explained by the characteristic microstructures that form under high cooling rates and multiple thermal cycles. Here, the composition of the feedstock Ti-6Al-4 V powder was modified via the addition of commercially pure Ti (CP Ti) to achieve improved ductility of LPBF parts through an in-situ modified composition, while maintaining good strength. The LPBF printed Ti alloy (with nominal composition Ti-3Al-2 V) showed a tensile strength of ∼1000 MPa, with improved ductility (∼13%), comparable to wrought Ti-6Al-4 V. These properties are thought to be explained by the decreased c/a ratio (where c and a are the lattice parameters of the titanium hexagonal close-packed phase) resulting in enhanced dislocation slip. Good relative density was also achieved using the modified composition under the same processing parameters. Some non-uniform regions were seen in the developed alloys, as well as evidence of increased martensite α′ thickness. It is proposed that with optimized parameters, further enhancements may be achieved. This work has shown that microstructural and mechanical properties can be facilely manipulated with proper CP Ti addition.