Effect of Build Orientation on the Corrosion Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Selective Laser Melted Ti-6Al-4V

Abstract

Ti-6Al-4V alloys with different build orientations have been fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM). The corrosion behavior and mechanical properties have been studied. Investigation of microstructures were characterized by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Electrochemical results show that the vertical sample and horizontal sample possess excellent corrosion resistance in the cross section and longitudinal section respectively, which can be attributed to the presence of less acicular α′ martensite and more β phase. Mechanical properties of all samples were determined by compression testing and hardness measurements. The compression strength (σc) and plastic deformation (εp) of the horizontal sample were higher than those of the vertical sample and the sample with building direction of 45°, because the molten pool boundaries (MPBs) play a significant role in the microscopic slipping at the loading SLM parts. In addition, the sample with building orientation of 45° achieved highest hardness. Therefore, distinct anisotropy due to different build orientations.