Specific heat treatment of selective laser melted Ti–6Al–4V for biomedical applications

doi:10.1007/s11706-015-0315-7

Front. Mater. Sci.

2015, Vol. 9

Issue (4) : 373-381 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-015-0315-7

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Specific heat treatment of selective laser melted Ti–6Al–4V for biomedical applications

Qianli HUANG,Xujie LIU,Xing YANG,Ranran ZHANG,Zhijian SHEN,Qingling FENG(

)

Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education of China, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

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Abstract

The ductility of as-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V falls far short of the requirements for biomedical titanium alloy implants and the heat treatment remains the only applicable option for improvement of their mechanical properties. In the present study, the decomposition of as-fabricated martensite was investigated to provide a general understanding on the kinetics of its phase transformation. The decomposition of as-fabricated martensite was found to be slower than that of water-quenched martensite. It indicates that specific heat treatment strategy is needed to be explored for as-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V. Three strategies of heat treatment were proposed based on different phase transformation mechanisms and classified as subtransus treatment, supersolvus treatment and mixed treatment. These specific heat treatments were conducted on selective laser melted samples to investigate the evolutions of microstructure and mechanical properties. The subtransus treatment leaded to a basket-weave structure without changing the morphology of columnar prior β grains. The supersolvus treatment resulted in a lamellar structure and equiaxed β grains. The mixed treatment yielded a microstructure that combines both features of the subtransus treatment and supersolvus treatment. The subtransus treatment is found to be the best choice among these three strategies for as-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V to be used as biomedical implants.

Keywords mechanical property titanium alloy selective laser melting (SLM) heat treatment microstructure

Corresponding Author(s): Qingling FENG

Online First Date: 29 October 2015 Issue Date: 12 November 2015

Cite this article:

Qianli HUANG,Xujie LIU,Xing YANG, et al. Specific heat treatment of selective laser melted Ti–6Al–4V for biomedical applications[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2015, 9(4): 373-381.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/10.1007/s11706-015-0315-7
https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/Y2015/V9/I4/373

Tab.1 Sample grouping and relevant parameters

Fig.1 Microstructure of as-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V samples tempering treated at 800°C for (a) 0 min, (b) 10 min, (c) 20?min, and (d) 4 h followed by air cooling.

Fig.2 Plot of hardness evolution with tempering time at 800°C followed by air cooling.

Fig.3 Microstructure of the as-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V tempering treated at 800°C for 2 h followed by (a) furnace cooling and (b) air cooling.

Fig.4 Microstructure of the as-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V tempering treated at 950°C for 2 h followed by (a) furnace cooling and (b)(c) air cooling.

Fig.5 Microstructure of the as-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V tempering treated at (a) 800°C and (b) 950°C for 2 h followed by air cooling.

Fig.6 Microstructure of the as-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V heat treated at (a)(b) 1050°C and (c)(d) 1200°C for 2 h followed by air cooling.

Fig.7 Microstructure of the as-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V solution treated at 1050°C for 1 h followed by water quenching and tempering treated at (a)(b) 950°C for 2 h and (c)(d) 990°C for 0.5 h followed by air cooling.

Fig.8 Engineering stress–strain curve of as-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V and heat-treated samples.

Tab.2 Mechanical properties of the SLM material after different heat treatments

Fig.9 Fracture surfaces of the tensile test specimens in different heat-treated states: (a) untreated; (b) 800°C/2 h/AC; (c) 950°C/ 1 h/AC; (d) 1050°C/1 h/AC; (e) 1200°C/1 h/AC; (f) 1050°C/1 h/WQ+ 990°C/0.5 h/AC.

Fig.10 EMPA results illustrating the element distribution of sample treated by treatment six (1050°C/1 h/WQ+ 990°C/0.5 h/AC): (a) micrograph showing the linear scanning path (along the red line and downward); (b) the element distribution of Al and V along scanning path.

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