학술논문

Performance of High-Layer-Thickness Ti6Al4V Fabricated by Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion under Different Accelerating Voltage Values
Document Type
article
Source
Materials, Vol 15, Iss 5, p 1878 (2022)
Subject
electron beam powder bed fusion
accelerating voltage
Ti6Al4V
high layer thickness
properties
Technology
Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering
TK1-9971
Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
TA1-2040
Microscopy
QH201-278.5
Descriptive and experimental mechanics
QC120-168.85
Language
English
ISSN
1996-1944
Abstract
The electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF) process is typically carried out using a layer thickness between 50 and 100 μm with the accelerating voltage of 60 kV for the electron beam. This configuration ensures forming accuracy but limits building efficiency. The augmentation of the accelerating voltage enlarges the molten pool due to the rise in penetrability, suggesting that a higher layer thickness can be used. Therefore, the effects of layer thickness and accelerating voltage were investigated simultaneously in this study to explore the feasibility of efficiency improvement. Ti6Al4V was fabricated by EB-PBF using layer thicknesses of 200 and 300 μm. Two accelerating voltage values of 60 and 90 kV were used to study their effects under expanded layer thickness. The results reveal that dense parts with the ultimate tensile strength higher than 950 MPa and elongation higher than 9.5% could be fabricated even if the layer thickness reached 300 μm, resulting in a building rate of up to 30 mm3/s. The expansion of the layer thickness could decrease the minimum bulk energy density needed to fabricate dense parts and increase the α platelet thickness, which improved the energy efficiency. However, expanding layer thickness had a significant negative effect on surface roughness, but it could be improved by applying augmented accelerating voltage.