Micro electrical discharge machining of small hole in TC4 alloy

Aiming at machining deeply small holes in TC4 alloy,a series of experiments were carried out on a self-developed multi-axis micro electrical discharge machining(micro-EDM)machine tool.To improve machining efficiency and decrease relative wear of electrode in machining deeply small hole in TC4 alloy,many factors in micro-EDM,such as polarity,electrical parameters and supplying ways of working fluid were studied.Experimental results show that positive polarity machining is far superior to negative polarity machining;it is more optimal when open-circuit voltage,pulse width and pulse interval are 130 V,5μs and 15μs respectively on the self developed multi-axis micro-EDM machine tool;when flushing method is applied in micro-EDM,the machining efficiency is higher and relative wear of electrode is smaller.

Influence of hot isostatic pressing on microstructure,properties and deformability of selective laser melting TC4 alloy

The influence of different hot isostatic pressing regimes on microstructure,phase constitution,microhardness,tensile properties and deformability of TC4 alloy fabricated by selective laser melting(SLM)technology was studied.The results show that the microstructure of SLM TC4 alloy is composed of acicular martensiteα’phase,and the sample exhibits high microhardness and strength,but low plasticity.After hot isostatic pressing,acicular martensiteα’phase transforms intoα+βphase,and with the increase of hot isostatic pressing temperature and duration,αphase with coarse lath is gradually refined,and the proportion ofαphase is gradually reduced.Because of the change of phase constitution in SLM TC4 alloy after hot isostatic pressing,the grain refinement strengthening is weakened,the density of dislocation is reduced,so that both microhardness and tensile strength are decreased by around 20%,the elongation is increased by more than about 70%,even over 100%,compared with as-deposited TC4 alloy.When the hot isostatic pressing regime is 940°C/3 h/150 MPa,the tensile strength and the elongation achieve optimal match,which are about890 MPa and around 14.0%in both directions.The fracture mechanism of alloy after 940 oC/3 h/150 MPa HIP is dultile fracture.Hot isostatic pressing causes concave deformation of SLM TC4 alloy thin-walled frames,and the deformation degree increases with the increase of temperature.

Flat jet electrochemical milling of TC4 alloy with tailoring backward parallel flow

In flat jet electrochemical milling, the electrolyte forms a backward parallel flow after impacting the workpiece, resulting in a weak current density distribution on the workpiece. Poor surface quality usually occurs on the machined titanium alloy surface because it inevitably suffers from the weak current density. In this study, a method of flat jet electrochemical milling with tailoring the backward parallel flow was proposed to eliminate the negative effects caused by the weak current density. Multiphysics simulations are carried out to comprehend the mechanism of flat jetEC milling with tailoring backward parallel flow and better construct the novel tool electrode.Experiments on flat jet electrochemical milling of TC4 alloy with and without tailoring backward parallel flow are conducted. The results reveal that, compared with flat jet electrochemical milling without tailoring backward parallel flow, the recommended tool reduces the surface roughness by86% to 93%, and improves the material removal rate by 93% to 163% with different feed rates.Additionally, the recommended tool is more conducive to maintaining the inherent hardness of the material. Finally, a surface with low Sa of 0.37 μm is obtained.

Self-propagating synthesis joining of C_(f)/Al composites and TC4 alloy using AgCu filler with Ni-Al-Zr interlayer

The successful joining of carbon fiber-reinforced aluminum matrix(C_(f)/Al)composites and TC4 alloy can produce composite structure and meet the demands of lightweight in aerospace field.Up to now,few experimental researches have been reported on the joining of C_(f)/Al composites and TC4 alloy.In this study,the AgCu foils and Ni-Al-Zr compact were designed for the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis joining of these two materials.C_(f)/Al composites were joined with a reactive Ti plated on its joining surface.The typical microstructure of TC4/(AgCu/Ni-Al-Zr/AgCu)/Ti/C_(f)/Al joint was analyzed,and the effects of joining condition on microstructural evolution of the SHS joint were investigated.A thin reaction layer of Ni-Al-Ti intermetallic compounds was formed adjacent to the TC4 alloy.As a result,AgCu foils could reduce the effect of reaction heat on the substrates and improve the joint shear strength.When the thickness of AgCu foils reaches 150 lm,the Ni-Al-Zr interlayer mainly acts as auxiliary heat source.High joining pressure caused the active elements to diffuse into C_(f)/Al composites and weakened the shear strength of the joint.Finally,the joint shear strength could reach 36.4 MPa when the AgCu foils were 50 lm and the joining pressure was 2 MPa.

Weld shape and microstructure of TC4 laser welding with activating flux of Na_(2)SiF_(6)

Na_(2)SiF_(6) was used as surface activating flux for laser welding of TC4 titanium alloy. The effect of Na_(2)SiF_(6) on TC4 titanium alloy laser welding was determined by observing the weld surface. The morphological characteristics of the high temperature plasma above the workpiece was observed and analyzed by using high-speed digital camera system. The variation of weld depth,width and microstructure were analyzed by optical microscope. The experimental results show that laser weld of TC4 titanium alloy has good appearance with activating flux of Na_(2)SiF_(6), weld penetration increases by about 0.8%–12%, while weld surface width decrease by about 10%–29%, the depth to width ratio is effectively improved. The inhomogeneity of weld microstructure was improved, and the crystallization direction of β columnar crystals on the upper part of the weld was changed, the grain size and microstructure of the weld were refined by Na_(2)SiF_(6).

Experimental Study on Grinding Force of Electrostatic Coated Grinding Wheel

In order to deal with the hard machining of TC4 alloy,coated graphite on grinding wheel surface by electrostatic device is proposed in this paper.This paper mainly completed the design of graphite electrostatic spraying grinding wheel device,force experimental analysis of grinding TC4 alloy with coated graphite grinding wheel,and summary of the influence of different grinding speeds and grinding depths on grinding force and grinding force ratio.The experimental results show that the lubrication coating can reduce the grinding force and grinding force ratio in the process of grinding TC4 alloy with graphite powder-coated wheel under electrostatic field force,compared to dry grinding with the uncoated wheel.

A comparative study of surface characterization and corrosion behavior of micro-arc oxidation treated Ti-6Al-4V alloy prepared by SEBM and SLM

Additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V(TC4)parts have been successfully employed as artificial implants in dental and orthopedic surgery due to their excellent mechanical properties.However,the suboptimal corrosion resistance limits their applications.The surface characterization and corrosion behavior of micro-arc oxidation(MAO)treated TC4 alloy prepared by selective electron beam melting(SEBM)and selective laser melting(SLM)technologies were compared.The corrosion resistance mechanism of SLM-MAO and SEBM-MAO was clarified through the analysis of the microstructure evolution,surface morphology,and electrochemical experiments.The results show that the anatase-type TiO_(2) is partially transformed into the slankite phase after MAO treatment.The surface roughness of SEBM sample was reduced by MAO coating,while the surface roughness of SLM sample increased after MAO,which is related to the difference between the microstructure of the deposited samples caused by different additive manufacturing technologies.When MAO time was 15 min,SLM-MAO and SEBM-MAO coating displayed the best and the worst corrosion resistance,respectively.

Improving performance of macro electrolyte jet machining of TC4 titanium alloy:Experimental and numerical studies

Electrolyte jet machining(EJM)is a promising method for shaping titanium alloys due to its lack of tool wear,thermal and residual stress,and cracks and burrs.Recently,macro-EJM has attracted increasing attention for its high efficiency in machining wide grooves or planes.However,macro-EJM generates large amounts of electrolytic products,thereby increasing the difficulty of rapid product removal with a standard tool and reducing the surface quality.Therefore,for enhanced product transport,a novel tool with a back inclined end face was proposed for macroEJM of TC4 titanium alloy.For comparison,also proposed were ones with a standard flat end face,a front inclined end face,and both front and back inclined end faces.The flow field distributions of all proposed tools were simulated numerically,and experiments were also conducted to validate the simulation results.The results show that one with a 5°back inclined end face can decrease the lowvelocity flow zone in the machining area and increase the high-velocity flow zone at the back end of tool,thereby promoting rapid product removal.A relatively smooth bright-white groove surface was obtained.The same tool also resulted in the highest machining depth and material removal rate among the tested ones.In addition,rapid product removal was beneficial to the subsequent processing.Because of its rapid product removal,the machining depth and material removal rate during deep groove machining using the tool with a 5°back inclined end face were respectively 7%and14%higher than those produced using a standard one.Moreover,the lowest bottom height difference of 0.027 mm can be obtained when the step-over value was 8.2 mm,and a plane with a depth of0.285 mm and a bottom height difference of 0.03 mm was fabricated using the tool with a 5°back inclined end face.