Influence of microstructure on fracture feature of Ti6Al4V alloy prepared by 3D printing

Abstract

In this work, the Ti6Al4V specimens produced by selective laser melting were mechanically tested in non-heat treated condition and fracture surface features were compared with this one of the material prepared using conventional casting and forging. The results of the fractography observation for both types of the samples were explained on the base of the microstructure analysis. The fracture surface of selective laser melted specimens showed more brittle feature that was in relation with the microstructure composed almost fully of martensite as opposed to conventionally prepared alloy with bimodal (α + β) microstructure and more ductile character of fracture surfaces.