Residual stress, microstructure and micro-hardness evolution of laser powder bed fusion Ti6Al4V: Effect of stress relief annealing

Stress relief annealing serves as a critical post-processing in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of Ti6Al4V alloy to release the inherited residual stress. However, most researches on the heat treatment of Ti6Al4V alloy in LPBF mainly focused on the high-temperature stress-relief annealing to regulate...

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Main Authors: Zhongxu Xiao, Xu Luo, Pan Liu, Guanjun Fu, Jun Wang, Guangxuan Zhou, Xiaojia Nie, Yang Qi, Haihong Zhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Journal of Materials Research and Technology
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425016977
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author Zhongxu Xiao
Xu Luo
Pan Liu
Guanjun Fu
Jun Wang
Guangxuan Zhou
Xiaojia Nie
Yang Qi
Haihong Zhu
author_facet Zhongxu Xiao
Xu Luo
Pan Liu
Guanjun Fu
Jun Wang
Guangxuan Zhou
Xiaojia Nie
Yang Qi
Haihong Zhu
author_sort Zhongxu Xiao
collection DOAJ
description Stress relief annealing serves as a critical post-processing in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of Ti6Al4V alloy to release the inherited residual stress. However, most researches on the heat treatment of Ti6Al4V alloy in LPBF mainly focused on the high-temperature stress-relief annealing to regulate the microstructure and mechanical properties. The research on the low-temperature stress-relief annealing which has a low impact on the microstructure is relatively few. In this study, the effect of the low-temperature stress-relief annealing at 350 °C on the residual stress behavior, microstructure and micro-hardness evolution were investigated systematically, with comparisons to conventional annealing treatments at 500–650 °C. The results indicated that the residual stress can be almost released at the low-temperature annealing of 350 °C with duration of 600 min, and the composition phases don't decompose with the duration extending. When treated with the high-temperature annealing of 500 °C and 650 °C, the white β phase began to precipitate and its fraction increases with the duration extending. Due to the partial decomposition of the acicular α′ phase in the as-built specimens to form smaller substructures, the micro-hardness of the annealed specimens is consistently higher than that of the as-built specimens. The micro-hardness reaches the highest at the annealing temperature of 500 °C with the duration of 10 min.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2238-7854
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publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Elsevier
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series Journal of Materials Research and Technology
spelling doaj-art-c6d81b67f9bd4551b495dbbcff4288222025-08-20T03:49:55ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542025-07-01373815382110.1016/j.jmrt.2025.07.039Residual stress, microstructure and micro-hardness evolution of laser powder bed fusion Ti6Al4V: Effect of stress relief annealingZhongxu Xiao0Xu Luo1Pan Liu2Guanjun Fu3Jun Wang4Guangxuan Zhou5Xiaojia Nie6Yang Qi7Haihong Zhu8Hubei Key Laboratory of Modern Manufacturing Quality Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430068, PR ChinaHubei Key Laboratory of Modern Manufacturing Quality Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430068, PR ChinaHubei Key Laboratory of Modern Manufacturing Quality Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430068, PR ChinaHubei Key Laboratory of Modern Manufacturing Quality Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430068, PR ChinaHubei Key Laboratory of Modern Manufacturing Quality Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430068, PR ChinaWuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, PR ChinaCollege of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Naval University of Engineering, Wuhan, Hubei, 430033, PR ChinaTaihang Laboratory, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610000, PR ChinaWuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, PR China; Corresponding author.Stress relief annealing serves as a critical post-processing in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of Ti6Al4V alloy to release the inherited residual stress. However, most researches on the heat treatment of Ti6Al4V alloy in LPBF mainly focused on the high-temperature stress-relief annealing to regulate the microstructure and mechanical properties. The research on the low-temperature stress-relief annealing which has a low impact on the microstructure is relatively few. In this study, the effect of the low-temperature stress-relief annealing at 350 °C on the residual stress behavior, microstructure and micro-hardness evolution were investigated systematically, with comparisons to conventional annealing treatments at 500–650 °C. The results indicated that the residual stress can be almost released at the low-temperature annealing of 350 °C with duration of 600 min, and the composition phases don't decompose with the duration extending. When treated with the high-temperature annealing of 500 °C and 650 °C, the white β phase began to precipitate and its fraction increases with the duration extending. Due to the partial decomposition of the acicular α′ phase in the as-built specimens to form smaller substructures, the micro-hardness of the annealed specimens is consistently higher than that of the as-built specimens. The micro-hardness reaches the highest at the annealing temperature of 500 °C with the duration of 10 min.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425016977Laser powder bed fusionTi6Al4VStress relief annealingResidual stress
spellingShingle Zhongxu Xiao
Xu Luo
Pan Liu
Guanjun Fu
Jun Wang
Guangxuan Zhou
Xiaojia Nie
Yang Qi
Haihong Zhu
Residual stress, microstructure and micro-hardness evolution of laser powder bed fusion Ti6Al4V: Effect of stress relief annealing
Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Laser powder bed fusion
Ti6Al4V
Stress relief annealing
Residual stress
title Residual stress, microstructure and micro-hardness evolution of laser powder bed fusion Ti6Al4V: Effect of stress relief annealing
title_full Residual stress, microstructure and micro-hardness evolution of laser powder bed fusion Ti6Al4V: Effect of stress relief annealing
title_fullStr Residual stress, microstructure and micro-hardness evolution of laser powder bed fusion Ti6Al4V: Effect of stress relief annealing
title_full_unstemmed Residual stress, microstructure and micro-hardness evolution of laser powder bed fusion Ti6Al4V: Effect of stress relief annealing
title_short Residual stress, microstructure and micro-hardness evolution of laser powder bed fusion Ti6Al4V: Effect of stress relief annealing
title_sort residual stress microstructure and micro hardness evolution of laser powder bed fusion ti6al4v effect of stress relief annealing
topic Laser powder bed fusion
Ti6Al4V
Stress relief annealing
Residual stress
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425016977
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