The effects of post heat treatment on the microstructural and mechanical properties of an additive-manufactured porous titanium alloy

Abstract

In this work, Ti-6Al-4V (Ti64) porous structures were prepared by selective laser melting (SLM), and the effects of post heat treatment on its microstructural and mechanical properties were investigated. The results showed that as SLM samples were mainly composed of needle-like α' martensite. Heat treatment at 750 °C caused α' phase to decompose, forming a lamellar α+β mixed microstructure. As the heat treatment temperature increased to 950 °C, the width of lamellar α phase gradually increased to 3.1 μm. Heat treatment also reduced the compressive strength of the samples; however, it significantly improved the ductility of the porous Ti64. Moreover, heat treatment improved the energy absorption effciency of the porous Ti64. The samples heat-treated at 750 °C had the highest energy absorption of 233.6 ± 1.5 MJ/m3 at ε = 50%.