Sintering properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloys prepared using Ti/TiH2 powders

Abstract

Ti-6Al-4Valloy specimens were prepared by sintering Ti/TiH2 powders with pre-alloyed TiAl and AlV powders. Changes in the sintered density, Vickers hardness, and phase structure of the Ti-6Al-4V (Ti-6Al-4V) and hydrogenated Ti-6Al-4V (H-Ti-6Al-4V) alloys as a function of the vacuum sintering temperature (700-1,300° C) were investigated. The sintered density and Vickers hardness of the Ti-6Al-4V and the HTi-6Al-4V alloys increased as the sintering temperature increased, while the concentration of oxygen considerably decreased with increasing sintering temperature. The oxygen concentration of the H-Ti-6Al-4V alloy was lower than that of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The sintered density and Vickers hardness values of the Ti-6Al-4V and H-Ti-6Al-4V alloys were almost the same. These results suggest that the preparation of Ti-6Al-4V alloy using TiH2 powder is more cost-effective and produces sintered products with lower oxygen concentrations. © 2012 The Japan Institute of Metals.