Elevated-Temperature Tensile Properties of Low-Temperature HIP-Treated EBM-Built Ti-6Al-4V

Evaluation of the high-temperature tensile properties of Ti-6Al-4V manufactured by electron beam melting (EBM) and subjected to a low-temperature hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatment (800 °C) was performed in this study. The high-temperature tensile properties of as-built and standard HIP-treated (920 °C) materials were studied for comparison. Metallurgical characterization of the as-built, HIP-treated materials was carried out to understand the effect of temperature on the microstructure. As the HIP treatments were performed below the β-transus temperature (995 °C for Ti-6Al-4V), no significant difference was observed in β grain width between the as-built and HIP-treated samples. The standard HIP-treated material measured about 1.4×–1.7× wider α laths than those in the modified HIP (low-temperature HIP)-treated and as-built samples. The standard HIP-treated material showed about a 10–14% lower yield strength than other tested materials. At 350 °C, the yield strength decreased to about 65% compared to the room-temperature strength for all tested specimens. An increase in ductility was observed at 150 °C compared to that at room temperature, but the values decreased between 150 and 350 °C because of the activation of different slip systems.