Electron beam powder bed fusion of Ti–1Al–8V–5Fe: Defying post-processing need with high strength and outstanding ductility
Metastable β-titanium alloys fabricated via additive manufacturing (AM) typically require substantial post-AM heat treatment to attain desirable mechanical properties. In this study, we demonstrate that Ti–1Al–8V–5Fe (Ti-185) alloy, fabricated via electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF), can simult...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-09-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Materials Research and Technology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S223878542501854X |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849408845647970304 |
|---|---|
| author | X.Z. Zhang Q. Zhou W.D. Zhang J.Z. Niu Y.B. Qin P.C. Zhang J. Wang |
| author_facet | X.Z. Zhang Q. Zhou W.D. Zhang J.Z. Niu Y.B. Qin P.C. Zhang J. Wang |
| author_sort | X.Z. Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Metastable β-titanium alloys fabricated via additive manufacturing (AM) typically require substantial post-AM heat treatment to attain desirable mechanical properties. In this study, we demonstrate that Ti–1Al–8V–5Fe (Ti-185) alloy, fabricated via electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF), can simultaneously achieve high strength and outstanding ductility without any post-process heat treatment. Microstructural and mechanical evaluations were conducted on samples from the top, middle, and bottom regions of the as-fabricated components. The as-fabricated microstructure features epitaxial columnar β grains with a distribution of grain-boundary α (αGB), microscale α (αMicro), and nanoscale α (αNano) precipitates. With increasing build height, prior-β grain width and αMicro dimensions decrease, while αNano width increases. All regions exhibit pronounced α-variant selection, especially in the top region, as quantified by pole-figure intensity and a degree-of-variant-selection (DVS) metric. Mechanical properties vary with build height, with yield strength increasing from 930 MPa at the bottom to 1075 MPa at the top, and a minimum elongation of 14 %. Notably, the bottom region exhibits an exceptional combination of 930 MPa yield strength and 28 % elongation, along with a work-hardening exponent of 0.15—exceeding the typical performance of as-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V. This places EB-PBF Ti-185 in a previously unoccupied region of the strength–ductility space. These results challenge the conventional necessity for post-processing and position EB-PBF as a viable single-step manufacturing route for producing high-performance β-titanium alloys for demanding applications such as aerospace. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e26bad2f34604356aa61b4707f4e44b1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2238-7854 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Materials Research and Technology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e26bad2f34604356aa61b4707f4e44b12025-08-20T03:35:40ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542025-09-0138849510.1016/j.jmrt.2025.07.196Electron beam powder bed fusion of Ti–1Al–8V–5Fe: Defying post-processing need with high strength and outstanding ductilityX.Z. Zhang0Q. Zhou1W.D. Zhang2J.Z. Niu3Y.B. Qin4P.C. Zhang5J. Wang6State Key Laboratory of Porous Metal Materials, Northwest Institute for Non-ferrous Metal Research, Xi'an, 710016, China; Corresponding author.State Key Laboratory of Porous Metal Materials, Northwest Institute for Non-ferrous Metal Research, Xi'an, 710016, ChinaCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Porous Metal Materials, Northwest Institute for Non-ferrous Metal Research, Xi'an, 710016, ChinaCenter for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale (CAMP-Nano), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, ChinaCenter for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale (CAMP-Nano), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Porous Metal Materials, Northwest Institute for Non-ferrous Metal Research, Xi'an, 710016, ChinaMetastable β-titanium alloys fabricated via additive manufacturing (AM) typically require substantial post-AM heat treatment to attain desirable mechanical properties. In this study, we demonstrate that Ti–1Al–8V–5Fe (Ti-185) alloy, fabricated via electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF), can simultaneously achieve high strength and outstanding ductility without any post-process heat treatment. Microstructural and mechanical evaluations were conducted on samples from the top, middle, and bottom regions of the as-fabricated components. The as-fabricated microstructure features epitaxial columnar β grains with a distribution of grain-boundary α (αGB), microscale α (αMicro), and nanoscale α (αNano) precipitates. With increasing build height, prior-β grain width and αMicro dimensions decrease, while αNano width increases. All regions exhibit pronounced α-variant selection, especially in the top region, as quantified by pole-figure intensity and a degree-of-variant-selection (DVS) metric. Mechanical properties vary with build height, with yield strength increasing from 930 MPa at the bottom to 1075 MPa at the top, and a minimum elongation of 14 %. Notably, the bottom region exhibits an exceptional combination of 930 MPa yield strength and 28 % elongation, along with a work-hardening exponent of 0.15—exceeding the typical performance of as-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V. This places EB-PBF Ti-185 in a previously unoccupied region of the strength–ductility space. These results challenge the conventional necessity for post-processing and position EB-PBF as a viable single-step manufacturing route for producing high-performance β-titanium alloys for demanding applications such as aerospace.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S223878542501854XAdditive manufacturingElectron beam powder bed fusionβ-titaniumα variant selection |
| spellingShingle | X.Z. Zhang Q. Zhou W.D. Zhang J.Z. Niu Y.B. Qin P.C. Zhang J. Wang Electron beam powder bed fusion of Ti–1Al–8V–5Fe: Defying post-processing need with high strength and outstanding ductility Journal of Materials Research and Technology Additive manufacturing Electron beam powder bed fusion β-titanium α variant selection |
| title | Electron beam powder bed fusion of Ti–1Al–8V–5Fe: Defying post-processing need with high strength and outstanding ductility |
| title_full | Electron beam powder bed fusion of Ti–1Al–8V–5Fe: Defying post-processing need with high strength and outstanding ductility |
| title_fullStr | Electron beam powder bed fusion of Ti–1Al–8V–5Fe: Defying post-processing need with high strength and outstanding ductility |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electron beam powder bed fusion of Ti–1Al–8V–5Fe: Defying post-processing need with high strength and outstanding ductility |
| title_short | Electron beam powder bed fusion of Ti–1Al–8V–5Fe: Defying post-processing need with high strength and outstanding ductility |
| title_sort | electron beam powder bed fusion of ti 1al 8v 5fe defying post processing need with high strength and outstanding ductility |
| topic | Additive manufacturing Electron beam powder bed fusion β-titanium α variant selection |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S223878542501854X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xzzhang electronbeampowderbedfusionofti1al8v5fedefyingpostprocessingneedwithhighstrengthandoutstandingductility AT qzhou electronbeampowderbedfusionofti1al8v5fedefyingpostprocessingneedwithhighstrengthandoutstandingductility AT wdzhang electronbeampowderbedfusionofti1al8v5fedefyingpostprocessingneedwithhighstrengthandoutstandingductility AT jzniu electronbeampowderbedfusionofti1al8v5fedefyingpostprocessingneedwithhighstrengthandoutstandingductility AT ybqin electronbeampowderbedfusionofti1al8v5fedefyingpostprocessingneedwithhighstrengthandoutstandingductility AT pczhang electronbeampowderbedfusionofti1al8v5fedefyingpostprocessingneedwithhighstrengthandoutstandingductility AT jwang electronbeampowderbedfusionofti1al8v5fedefyingpostprocessingneedwithhighstrengthandoutstandingductility |