Recent innovations in laser additive manufacturing of titanium alloys

Titanium(Ti)alloys are widely used in high-tech fields like aerospace and biomedical engineering.Laser additive manufacturing(LAM),as an innovative technology,is the key driver for the development of Ti alloys.Despite the significant advancements in LAM of Ti alloys,there remain challenges that need further research and development efforts.To recap the potential of LAM high-performance Ti alloy,this article systematically reviews LAM Ti alloys with up-to-date information on process,materials,and properties.Several feasible solutions to advance LAM Ti alloys are reviewed,including intelligent process parameters optimization,LAM process innovation with auxiliary fields and novel Ti alloys customization for LAM.The auxiliary energy fields(e.g.thermal,acoustic,mechanical deformation and magnetic fields)can affect the melt pool dynamics and solidification behaviour during LAM of Ti alloys,altering microstructures and mechanical performances.Different kinds of novel Ti alloys customized for LAM,like peritecticα-Ti,eutectoid(α+β)-Ti,hybrid(α+β)-Ti,isomorphousβ-Ti and eutecticβ-Ti alloys are reviewed in detail.Furthermore,machine learning in accelerating the LAM process optimization and new materials development is also outlooked.This review summarizes the material properties and performance envelops and benchmarks the research achievements in LAM of Ti alloys.In addition,the perspectives and further trends in LAM of Ti alloys are also highlighted.

Tribological Behaviors of Electroless Nickel-Boron Coating on Titanium Alloy Surface

Titanium alloys are excellent structural materials in engineering fields,but their poor tribological properties limit their further applications.Electroless plating is an effective method to enhance the tribological performance of alloys,but it is difficult to efficiently apply to titanium alloys,due to titanium alloy’s strong chemical activity.In this work,the electroless Nickel-Boron(Ni-B)coating was successfully deposited on the surface of titanium alloy(Ti-6AL-4V)via a new pre-treatment process.Then,linearly reciprocating sliding wear tests were performed to evaluate the tribological behaviors of titanium alloy and its electroless Ni-B coatings.It was found that the Ni-B coatings can decrease the wear rate of the titanium alloy from 19.89×10^(−3)mm^(3)to 0.41×10^(−3)mm^(3),which attributes to the much higher hardness of Ni-B coatings.After heat treatment,the hardness of Ni-B coating further increases corresponding to coating crystallization and hard phase formation.However,heat treatment does not improve the tribological performance of Ni-B coating,due to the fact that higher brittleness and more severe oxidative wear exacerbate the damage of heat-treated coatings.Furthermore,the Ni-B coatings heat-treated both in air and nitrogen almost present the same tribological performance.The finding of this work on electroless coating would further extend the practical applications of titanium alloys in the engineering fields.

Effect of forging on the microstructure and texture of a high Nb containing γ-TiAl alloy

The effect of forging on the microstructure and texture evolution of a high Nb containing Ti-45Al-7Nb-0.3W(at.%)alloy was investigated by X-ray diffractometer(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).The results show that the as-cast alloy is mainly composed of α_(2)/γ lamellar colonies with a mean size of 70μm,but the hot-forged pancake displays a near duplex microstructure(DP).Kinking and bending of lamellar colonies,deformation twinning and dynamic recrystallization(DRX)occur during hot forging.Meanwhile,dense dislocations in theβphase after forging suggest that the high-temperature β phase with a disordered structure is favorable for improving the hot-workability of the alloy.Unlike the common TiAl casting texture,the solidification process of the investigated as-cast alloy with high Nb content is completely via the β phase region,resulting in the formation of a<110>γ fiber texture where the<110>γ aligns parallel to the heat-flow direction.In comparison,the relatively strong<001>and weak<302>texture components in the as-forged alloy are attributed to the deformation twinning.After annealing,static recrystallization occurs at the twin boundary and intersections,which weakens the deformation texture.

Hot Deformation Behavior of Ti-6Al-4V-0.5Ni-0.5Nb Titanium Alloy

Characterization of hot deformation behavior of Ti-6Al-4V-0.5Ni-0.5Nb titanium alloy was investigated through isothermal compression at various temperatures from 750 to 1050℃and strain rate from 0.01 to 10 s^(-1).The isothermal compression experiment results showed that the peak stress of Ti-6Al-4V-0.5Ni-0.5Nb titanium alloy decreased with the temperature increasing and the strain rate decreasing.The softening mechanism was dynamic recovery below T_(β)and changed to dynamic recrystallization above T_(β).The arrheniustype relationship was used to calculate the constitutive equation of Ti-6Al-4V-0.5Ni-0.5Nb alloy in two-phase regions.It was found that the apparent activation energies were 427.095 kJ·mol^(-1)in theα+βphase region and 205.451 kJ·mol^(-1)in theβphase region,respectively.On the basis of dynamic materials model,the processing map is generated,which shows that the highest peak efficiency of power dissipation of 56%occurs at about 1050℃/0.01 s^(-1).It can be found in the processing maps that the strain had significant effect on the peak region of power dissipation efficiency of Ti-6Al-4V-0.5Ni-0.5Nb alloy.Furthermore,optimized hot working regions were investigated and validated through microstructure observation.The optimum thermo mechanical process condition for hot working of Ti-6Al-4V-0.5Ni-0.5Nb titanium alloy was suggested to be in the temperature range of 950-1000℃with a strain rate of 0.01-0.1 s^(-1).

Microstructure evolution and strengthening mechanism of high -performance powder metallurgy TA15 titanium alloy by hot rolling

Hot deformation of sintered billets by powder metallurgy(PM)is an effective preparation technique for titanium alloys,which is more significant for high-alloying alloys.In this study,Ti–6.5Al–2Zr–Mo–V(TA15)titanium alloy plates were prepared by cold press-ing sintering combined with high-temperature hot rolling.The microstructure and mechanical properties under different process paramet-ers were investigated.Optical microscope,electron backscatter diffraction,and others were applied to characterize the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties strengthening mechanism.The results showed that the chemical compositions were uniformly dif-fused without segregation during sintering,and the closing of the matrix craters was accelerated by increasing the sintering temperature.The block was hot rolled at 1200℃ with an 80%reduction under only two passes without annealing.The strength and elongation of the plate at 20–25℃ after solution and aging were 1247 MPa and 14.0%,respectively,which were increased by 24.5%and 40.0%,respect-ively,compared with the as-sintered alloy at 1300℃.The microstructure was significantly refined by continuous dynamic recrystalliza-tion,which was completed by the rotation and dislocation absorption of the substructure surrounded by low-angle grain boundaries.After hot rolling combined with heat treatment,the strength and plasticity of PM-TA15 were significantly improved,which resulted from the dense,uniform,and fine recrystallization structure and the synergistic effect of multiple slip systems.

Comparison of electrochemical behaviors of Ti-5Al-2Sn-4Zr-4Mo-2Cr-1Fe and Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloys in NaNO_(3) solution

The Ti-5Al-2Sn-4Zr-4Mo-2Cr-1Fe(β-CEZ)alloy is considered as a potential structural material in the aviation industry due to its outstanding strength and corrosion resistance.Electrochemical machining(ECM)is an efficient and low-cost technology for manufacturing theβ-CEZ alloy.In ECM,the machining parameter selection and tool design are based on the electrochemical dissolution behavior of the materials.In this study,the electrochemical dissolution behaviors of theβ-CEZ and Ti-6Al-4V(TC4)alloys in NaNO3solution are discussed.The open circuit potential(OCP),Tafel polarization,potentiodynamic polarization,electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS),and current efficiency curves of theβ-CEZ and TC4 alloys are analyzed.The results show that,compared to the TC4 alloy,the passivation film structure is denser and the charge transfer resistance in the dissolution process is greater for theβ-CEZ alloy.Moreover,the dissolved surface morphology of the two titanium-based alloys under different current densities are analyzed.Under low current densities,theβ-CEZ alloy surface comprises dissolution pits and dissolved products,while the TC4 alloy surface comprises a porous honeycomb structure.Under high current densities,the surface waviness of both the alloys improves and the TC4 alloy surface is flatter and smoother than theβ-CEZ alloy surface.Finally,the electrochemical dissolution models ofβ-CEZ and TC4 alloys are proposed.

Experimental Study on Titanium Alloy Cutting Property and Wear Mechanism with Circular-arc Milling Cutters

Titanium alloy has been applied in the field of aerospace manufacturing for its high specific strength and hardness.Nonetheless,these properties also cause general problems in the machining,such as processing inefficiency,serious wear,poor workpiece face quality,etc.Aiming at the above problems,this paper carried out a comparative experimental study on titanium alloy milling based on the CAMCand BEMC.The variation law of cutting force and wear morphology of the two tools were obtained,and the wear mechanism and the effect of wear on machining quality were analyzed.The conclusion is that in contrast with BEMC,under the action of cutting thickness thinning mechanism,the force of CAMC was less,and its fluctuation was more stable.The flank wear was uniform and near the cutting edge,and the wear rate was slower.In the early period,the wear mechanism of CAMC was mainly adhesion.Gradually,oxidative wear also occurred with milling.Furthermore,the surface residual height of CAMC was lower.There is no obvious peak and trough accompanied by fewer surface defects.

Effect of hot isostatic pressing processing parameters on microstructure and properties of Ti60 high temperature titanium alloy

Hot isostatic pressing parameters are critical to Ti60 high temperature titanium alloy castings which have wide application perspective in aerospace.In order to obtain optimal processing parameters,the effects of hot isostatic pressing parameters on defects,composition uniformity,microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti60 cast high temperature titanium alloy were investigated in detail.Results show that increasing temperature and pressure of hot isostatic pressing can reduce defects,especially,the internal defects are substantially eliminated when the temperature exceeds 920℃or the pressure exceeds 125 MPa.The higher temperature and pressure can improve the microstructure uniformity.Besides,the higher pressure can promote the composition uniformity.With the temperature increases from 880℃to 960℃,α-laths are coarsened.But with increasing pressure,the grain size of prior-βphase,the widths ofα-laths andα-colony are reduced.The tensile strength of Ti60 alloy is 949 MPa,yield strength is 827 MPa,and the elongation is 11%when the hot isostatic pressing parameters are 960℃/125 MPa/2 h,which exhibits the best match between the strength and plasticity.

Direct ink writing to fabricate porous acetabular cups from titanium alloy

Acetabular cups,which are among themost important implants in total hip arthroplasty,are usually made from titanium alloys with high porosity and adequate mechanical properties.The current three-dimensional(3D)printing approaches to fabricate customized acetabular cups have some inherent disadvantages such as high cost and energy consumption,residual thermal stress,and relatively low efficiency.Thus,in this work,a direct ink writing method was developed to print a cup structure at room temperature,followed by multi-step heat treatment to form microscale porous structure within the acetabular cup.Our method is facilitated by the development of a self-supporting titanium-6 aluminum-4 vanadium(Ti64)ink that is composed of Ti64 particles,bentonite yield-stress additive,ultraviolet curable polymer,and photo-initiator.The effects of Ti64 and bentonite concentrations on the rheological properties and printability of inks were systematically investigated.Moreover,the printing conditions,geometrical limitations,and maximum curing depth were explored.Finally,some complex 3D structures,including lattices with different gap distances,honeycomb with a well-defined shape,and an acetabular cup with uniformly distributed micropores,were successfully printed/fabricated to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Flow Characteristics Analysis of TC18 Titanium Alloy during Hot Deformation Based on Phase Transformation

An accurate flow stress model was established by considering the parameters of strain rate,strain and temperature as well asβ→a+βphase transformation in order to develop the plastic forming theory of TC18 titanium alloy.Firstly,the phase transition kinetics of TC18 titanium alloy during isothermal and continuous cooling at 1073 and 1273 K was studied by thermodynamic calculation,meanwhile,the relationship of volume fraction of phase transition with temperature and time was obtained.Constitutive models were calculated by investigating flow behaviors under hot compression tests with the strain rates of 0.001-1s^(-1) and temperatures of 973-1223 K in the singleβand a+βregions in TC18 titanium alloy,respectively.By combining the phase transformation dynamic kinetics with constitutive models,an accurate flow stress model was established,providing theoretical basis and data support for the hot forging of TC18 titanium alloy.

Effect of Solution-ECAP-Aging Treatment on the Microstructure and Properties of TB8 Titanium Alloy

The microstructure and mechanical properties of the TB8 titanium alloy were controlled by a secondary processing technology of solution-equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)-aging treatment,which combined strong plastic deformation with heat treatment. The effects of ECAP and heat treatment on the microstructure and properties of the titanium alloy were systematically investigated by optical microscopy(OM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), hardness tests, and tensile property analysis. The results indicate that the metallographic structure without ECAP treatment is mainly equiaxed β-phase, while that after ECAP treatment is equiaxed β-phase with grain fragmentation, slip bands, and new small grains. After 850 ℃ solutionECAP-520 ℃ aging treatment, the titanium alloy has the smallest grain size, while the directionality of tissue growth along the ECAP direction is the most apparent. Under the same solution-aging conditions, the hardness of the titanium alloy increases from 431.5 to 531.2 HV compared to that without ECAP treatment, i e, increases by 23.11%, and the tensile strength increases from 1 045.30 to 1 176.25 MPa, i e, increases by 12.5%.

Grinding Characteristics of MoS_(2)-Coated Brazed CBN Grinding Wheels in Dry Grinding of Titanium Alloy

As an important green manufacturing process,dry grinding has problems such as high grinding temperature and insufficient cooling capacity.Aiming at the problems of sticking and burns in dry grinding of titanium alloys,grinding performance evaluation of molybdenum disulfide(MoS_(2))solid lubricant coated brazed cubic boron carbide(CBN)grinding wheel(MoS_(2)-coated CBN wheel)in dry grinding titanium alloys was carried out.The lubrication mechanism of MoS_(2)in the grinding process is analyzed,and the MoS_(2)-coated CBN wheel is prepared.The results show that the MoS_(2)solid lubricant can form a lubricating film on the ground surface and reduce the friction coefficient and grinding force.Within the experimental parameters,normal grinding force decreased by 42.5%,and tangential grinding force decreased by 28.1%.MoS_(2)lubricant can effectively improve the heat dissipation effect of titanium alloy grinding arc area.Compared with common CBN grinding wheel,MoS_(2)-coated CBN wheel has lower grinding temperature.When the grinding depth reaches 20μm,the grinding temperature decreased by 30.5%.The wear of CBN grains of grinding wheel were analyzed by mathematical statistical method.MoS_(2)lubricating coating can essentially decrease the wear of grains,reduce the adhesion of titanium alloy chip,prolong the service life of grinding wheel,and help to enhance the surface quality of workpiece.This research provides high-quality and efficient technical support for titanium alloy grinding.

Effect of brazing temperature on microstructure and tensile strength ofγ-TiAl joint vacuum brazed with micro-nano Ti−Cu−Ni−Nb−Al−Hf filler

A novel micro-nano Ti−10Cu−10Ni−8Al−8Nb−4Zr−1.5Hf filler was used to vacuum braze Ti−47Al−2Nb−2Cr−0.15B alloy at 1160−1220°C for 30 min.The interfacial microstructure and formation mechanism of TiAl joints and the relationships among brazing temperature,interfacial microstructure and joint strength were emphatically investigated.Results show that the TiAl joints brazed at 1160 and 1180°C possess three interfacial layers and mainly consist ofα2-Ti3Al,τ3-Al3NiTi2 and Ti2Ni,but the brazing seams are no longer layered and Ti2Ni is completely replaced by the uniformly distributedτ3-Al3NiTi2 at 1200 and 1220°C due to the destruction ofα2-Ti3Al barrier layer.This transformation at 1200°C obviously improves the tensile strength of the joint and obtains a maximum of 343 MPa.Notably,the outward diffusion of Al atoms from the dissolution of TiAl substrate dominates the microstructure evolution and tensile strength of the TiAl joint at different brazing temperatures.

In-situ Micro-CT analysis of deformation behavior in sandwich-structured meta-stable beta Ti−35Nb alloy

Beta Ti−35Nb sandwich-structured composites with various reinforcing layers were designed and produced using additive manufacturing(AM)to achieve a balance between light weight and high strength.The impact of reinforcing layers on the compressive deformation behavior of porous composites was investigated through micro-computed tomography(Micro-CT)and finite element method(FEM)analyses.The results indicate that the addition of reinforcement layers to sandwich structures can significantly enhance the compressive yield strength and energy absorption capacity of porous metal structures;Micro-CT in-situ observation shows that the strain of the porous structure without the reinforcing layer is concentrated in the middle region,while the strain of the porous structure with the reinforcing layer is uniformly distributed;FEM analysis reveals that the reinforcing layers can alter stress distribution and reduce stress concentration,thereby promoting uniform deformation of the porous structure.The addition of reinforcing layer increases the compressive yield strength of sandwich-structured composite materials by 124%under the condition of limited reduction of porosity,and the yield strength increases from 4.6 to 10.3 MPa.

Dynamic globularization kinetics during hot working of TA15 titanium alloy with colony microstructure

The dynamic globularization kinetics of TA15（Ti-6Al-2Zr-1Mo-1V） titanium alloy with a colony α microstructure during deformation at temperature range of 860-940 ℃ and strain rate range of 0.01-10 s-1 was quantitatively studied through isothermal compression tests.It is found that the dynamic globularization kinetics and the kinetics rate of TA15 are sensitive to deformation parameters.The dynamic globularized fraction increases with increasing strain,temperature but decreasing strain rate.The variation of globularized fraction with strain approximately follows an Avrami type equation.Using the Avrami type equation,the initiation and completion strains for dynamic globularization of TA15 were predicted to be 0.34-0.59 and 3.40-6.80.The kinetics rate of dynamic globularization increases with strain at first,then decreases.The peak value of kinetics rate,which corresponds to 20%-33% globularization fraction,increases with increasing temperature and decreasing strain rate.

Design of new biomedical titanium alloy based on d-electron alloy design theory and JMatPro software

A new kind offl biomedical titanium alloy, Ti-35Nb-4Sn-6Mo-9Zr, composed of non-toxic elements Nb, Mo, Zr and Sn with lower elastic modulus and higher strength was designed based on d-electron alloy design theory and JMatPro software using orthogonal experiment. The microstructure and basic mechanical properties of designed alloy were investigated. The results show that the alloy is composed of single fl equiaxed grains after solution treatment at 800 ~C. Compared with Ti-6A1-4V, the mechanical properties of the designed alloy are more excellent： E=65 GPa, σb=834 MPa, σ0.2=802 MPa, and σ=11%, which is expected to become a promising new type implanted material. The research approach adopted can reduce the experimental time and cost effectively, and get the ideal experimental results.

Influence of high-speed milling parameter on 3D surface topography and fatigue behavior of TB6 titanium alloy

High-speed milling of titanium alloys is widely used in aviation and aerospace industries for its high efficiency and good quality.In order to optimize the machining parameters in high-speed milling TB6 titanium alloy,experiments of high-speed milling and fatigue were conducted to investigate the effect of parameters on 3D surface topography and fatigue life.Based on the fatigue fracture,the effect mechanism of surface topography on the fatigue crack initiation was proposed.The experiment results show that when the milling speed ranged from 100 m/min to 140 m/min,and the feed per tooth ranged from 0.02 mm/z to 0.06 mm/z,the obtained surface roughness were within the limit（0.8 μm）.Fatigue life decreased sharply with the increase of surface equivalent stress concentration factor.The average error of fatigue life between the established model and the experimental results was 6.25%.The fatigue cracks nucleated at the intersection edge of machined surface.

Effects of nitrogen flux on microstructure and tribological properties of in-situ TiN coatings deposited on TC11 titanium alloy by electrospark deposition

In order to improve the tribological properties of titanium alloys,the in-situ TiN coatings were prepared by electrospark deposition（ESD） on the surface of TC11 titanium alloy.The effects of nitrogen flux on the microstructure and tribological properties of TiN coatings were investigated.The results show that the coating is relative thin when the nitrogen flux is small and mainly consists of Ti2N,α-Ti,Ti O and TiN phases,and the metastable phase of Ti2N is developed due to the rapid solidification of ESD.While in excessive nitrogen flux condition,many micro-cracks and holes might be generated in the coating.In moderate nitrogen flux,the coating is mainly composed of TiN phase,and is dense and uniform（50-55 μm）.The average hardness is HV0.2 1165.2,which is 3.4 times that of the TC11 substrate.The TiN coatings prepared in moderate nitrogen flux perform the best wear resistance.The wear loss of the coating is 0.4 mg,which is 2/9 that of the TC11 substrate.The main wear mechanisms of the coatings are micro-cutting wear accompanied by multi-plastic deformation wear.

Microstructure of cast γ-TiAl based alloy solidified from β phase region

The microstructures and phase transformation of Ti-43Al-4Nb alloy in as-cast and heat-treated states were investigated by using optical microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy as well as differential scanning calorimetry. The results show that a fine microstructure of the as-cast alloy can be obtained by solidifying through the β phase. γ grains can nucleate directly from the β phase. The coexistence of β phase and γ phase along primary α grain boundaries contributes to the decrease in the grain size of the as-cast alloy. The phase transformation sequence during solidification of the Ti-43Al-4Nb alloy is suggested as L→L＋β→β→α＋β→α＋βr→α＋γ＋βr→lamellae（α2＋γ）＋γ＋βr. The microstructure of the alloy after heat treatment at 1 250 ℃ for 16 h exhibits a certain coarsening compared with that of the as-cast state. The remnant β phase can be removed by the heat treatment process due to the diffusion of Nb and the non-equilibrium state of β phase.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of TC21 titanium alloy after heat treatment

Microstructure evolutions during different heat treatments and influence of microstmcture on mechanical properties of TC21 titanium alloy were investigated. The results indicate that the excellent mechanical properties can be obtained by adopting air cooling after forging followed by heat treatment of （900℃, 1 h, AC）＋（590 ℃, 4 h, AC）. Deformation in single β field produces pan-like prior fl grains, while annealing in single fl field produces equiaxed prior fl grains. Cooling rate after forging or annealing in single fl field and the subsequent annealing on the top of α＋β field determine the content and morphology of coarse a plates. During aging or the third annealing, fine secondary a plates precipitate. Both ultimate strength and yield strength decrease with the content increase of coarse a plates. Decreasing effective slip length and high crack propagation resistance increase the plasticity. The crisscross coarse a plates with large thickness are helpful to enhance the fracture toughness.