Creep behaviour of Ti-6Al-4V produced by SLM

Abstract

Additive manufacturing processes allow developing complex optimized geometries, hence making them very attractive for aeronautical applications. In recent years, the possibility of fabricating secondary structural parts with additive manufacturing techniques has been explored by Airbus. Because of the thermal gradients caused by local heating, these techniques also have some drawbacks such as residual stresses and distortions. To solve these issues, post treatments, like stress relieving and Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) treatments, are usually applied. The present work deals with the development of a numerical tool for the prediction of the final state of Ti-6Al-4V industrial components produced by Selective Laser Melting (SLM). This study focuses on the simulation of the stress relaxation occurring during heat treatments. The objective is to analyse the creep phenomenon of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy at high temperatures (between 500°C and 900°C). Creep tests are performed under a constant stress (tensile and compression), using a Gleeble