Strain-Based Fatigue Experimental Study on Ti–6Al–4V Alloy Manufactured by Electron Beam Melting

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) by electron beam melting (EBM) is a technique used to manufacture parts by melting powder metal layer-by-layer with an electron beam in a high vacuum, thereby generating a 3D topology. This paper studies the low-cycle fatigue of Ti–6Al–4V specimens obtained by EBM. Static tests were carried out according to ASTM E8 for a yield stress of 1023 MPa, a fracture stress of 1102 MPa, and a maximum tensile strength of 1130 MPa with a maximum true normal strain at fracture εmax = 9.0% and an elastic modulus of 120 GPa. Then, fatigue tests were conducted at a load inversion rate of R = −1. It was observed that the material exhibited plastic strain softening, which was attributed to the Bauschinger effect. These results were plotted on a strain vs. life (ε−N) curve using the Ong version of the Coffin–Manson rule and the Baumel–Seager and Meggiolaro–Castro rules. The results were compared to forged Ti–6Al–4V alloys. The cyclic stress–strain behavior was described with the Ramberg–Osgood model. Finally, the fracture surface was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to observe the formation of primary cracks. The fracture morphology showed a mixed surface, also known as a “quasi-cleavage”, which is characterized by dimples, cleavage facets, extensive primary cracks with broken slipping planes, and a large number of inclusions. This phenomenon caused a possible brittle behavior in the material.